Agony's Best Friend
by FudoTwin17
Summary: What if Robin didn't escape when Slade tried to force him to be his apprentice? What if he was already in agony from abandonment from Batman? What if the Teen Titans were going to bring a friend from the past to help them? Warning: Pain, lot's of pain.
1. Dynamic Duos

FudoTwin17: Hey, guys! I know I usually do Yu-gi-oh stories, but it's been so long since I watched this show and I love it sooooooooo much!

GoldFish # 2: Get to the point already!

FudoTwin17: I love Teen Titans! Unfortunately, I don't own it . . . .

GoldFish # 1: That's the best news she's said all day.

FudoTwin17: This story starts in episode twelve when Slade yells at Robin to attack.

Leo The Rat: Hope you like it!

Chapter 1

Slade emerged out of the shadows where he had been thrown by a burst of energy from an extremely scary alien. He glared at them for interrupting him in forcing his dominance on Robin. He stalked toward his rebellious pupil, "Robin, attack!"

Robin turned helplessly, "Get out of here! Go! You don't know what those beams did to you-"

"Dude-" Beast Boy began, but was interrupted by slade.

"Too Late." He pressed the button.

They collapsed in the darkness, not afraid of the pain, but of losing Robin again.

"Robin, come. Or I will finish them off." Slade said calmly, a smile clear in his voice.

Robin took a deep breath, "No."

He glanced at the maker of his problems: The reactor. But it gave him away.

Slade had him on the ground in a second, keeping Robins hands pinned behind his back. Robin grimaced in pain.

"Slade." His utter hatred for him was obvious in his voice, but Slade was oblivious to it.

"My boy, you work too hard. Any longer and your friends will die. Do you really want that?" Slade mocked sadness coolly, with his mask right next to Robin's ear.

A second was all Slade needed, and he had gotten it. Robin relaxed, resigning to his fate. Slade got what he wanted.

"Good." He let Robin up.

"Robin." Starfire whispered

"I'm sorry." He looked away.

"Robin?" Slade called impatiently.

"Coming . . . Master." Just like that, they were gone with the pain.

"Robin." Starfire whispered, "ROBIN!"

"Star . . . ."

. . .

The Teen Titans sat in their meeting room with a gloomy atmosphere slowly picking away at them as they removed the tiny machines from their blood cells. Never had they been so . . . utterly defeated. Hurt. Miserable. Anguished.

Never had they realized how bad this situation was. Or at least until they lost Robin.

Robin. That was their new word for anguish beyond any words.

"Think there's any way to get him back?" Cyborg muttered after he had debugged everyone.

It was quiet, but after a moment, the others started talking.

"We can't go after him. We'll always lose the fight." Raven looked away, wishing she could do something.

"We don't even know where they are." Beast Boy whined uncomfortably.

"Well, maybe Robin has other friends that would help us." Starfire pointed out.

"But how are we supposed to know who they are? He didn't like to talk about his past . . . ." Cyborg sighed.

"Then we check his room." Raven replied, "If we can do nothing else, then we can at least tell a friend."

They stared at her at the uncharacteristic act she proposed they do. She sunk deeper into her cloak when there was a silence.

"Raven," Beast Boy gasped, "That's . . . amazing!

They all agreed. They were all edgy when they reached his room, though. Starfire gently pushed open the door into the shadows of his room. There were newspaper articles taped to the walls. Everywhere.

"Well, find something that didn't occur since we knew him along with something from another city." Cyborg said as if they didn't know what they were looking for and weren't already searching.

"Gotham." Beast Boy whispered quietly, which was really not something he did a lot.

"What?" Starfire asked.

"Gotham. It's where he came from, or at least he stayed there for a while." They stared at him, "When we first set up a . . . base here, I found a newspaper article that . . . wasn't from around here. I asked him about it and he told me he liked to keep a piece of home with him. I-I think he carries it around with him. It's his . . . good luck charm."

They stared at him for a second, then got back to work. After hours of fruitless, or rather article-less, work Raven fell on his bed.

"This isn't getting us anywhere!" She yelled, frustrated, then opened her eyes, "What?"

"Raven?" Cyborg asked.

She stood, and let a shadow hand flip the mattress. Underneath was a normal sized metal box . . . that just so happened to be locked.

Beast Boy picked it up and shook it up and down. He nodded, "Definitely newspaper clippings."

"Okay." Starfire said as she picked it up. She pried it open with her super human strength.

Raven picked up the newspaper clippings inside, "These are about a Batman and Robin."

Cyborg and Beast Boy's jaws dropped, "Batman!"

While Cyborg and Beast Boy fought over the clipping carefully, Star picked up another with raven looking over her shoulder.

"Robin looks so . . . happy." She whispered.

"We'll find him." Raven replied.

It was different. The article showed a real smile. One they only saw on celebrations, buts still not as big.

"Batman! But how are we supposed to contact him if we don't know his identity?" Cyborg asked.

Raven plucked another article from the box, "'Millionaire Bruce Wane Takes in Orphan'." That caught their attention, "'After Two Face, a notorious criminal, took an entire circus hostage, with millionaire Bruce Wane and many others in attendance, he played games. A bomb, a trapeze group, and a madman caused mayhem. He took the lives of all but the youngest of the trapeze family, Dick Grayson. The rest of his family, his parents, brother, and sister, were all murdered before even Batman himself could save them."

It was quiet.

"A-at least we know who Batman is." Beast Boy whispered.

Everyone that day was being uncharacteristic.

. . .

Except Slade.

"Go. Sleep off your wounds."

"Yes, _Master._" Robin choked. He hated calling him that, but it was becoming easier. It made Robin wonder whether or not it meant he would become like a slave, no a slave. He was already like a slave.

Robin turned and walked away.

Slade would always be Slade. He chose another clock tower, but this time, he winced every time he looked out the window. Robin had spent so many bad times . . . and good times here. The good times were harder to accept.

He knew that was the reason they were there.

Because Robin would rather be dead than back in this place. It gave Slade too much control.

He reached his room. He changed into easier clothes to be in, skipping out on a shirt when there were only full body outfits.

He pulled a small crumpled up paper out of the pocket of his original outfit. It was a photograph, not a article, of Robin, no, Dick, Barbara, Alfred, and . . . Bruce.

Barbara, Batgirl, whatever, had left shortly before Bruce . . . .

She was probably happy. Alfred was still good old Alfred and helped Bruce - wince – with everything Batman. The rest of the titans were safe. Everyone but Robin was happy. That was good enough for Robin.

He laid down.

That was alright with him. He'd forfeited his future anyways. No use crying over it now.

So Robin simply lived angrily. Actually, it wasn't even good enough to be called a life. It was just existence.

Just like Slade wanted.

FudoTwin17: Wow. That was the longest chapter I've ever written. Wow.

Cat: Let them go away.

FudoTwin17: R&R!


	2. Written Woes and Burning Brawns

FudoTwin17: Oh, how I love Teen Titans!

Cat: Got it.

GoldFish # 2: She doesn't own Teen Titans.

FudoTwin17: Course not.

Leo The Rat: Enjoy.

Chapter 2

Bruce walked away from his assistant chief. He had informed him what had caused the hold up for one of his get togethers. It had to due with a robbery from a private sum of money that he had made right before Robin was fired.

Only a select few people had known about it: Alfred, of course, Robin, Bruce, it was his money, and the group of people who's jobs it depended on to guard the money. It couldn't be Bruce or Alfred. And those people wouldn't risk their jobs for it. Robin . . . .

Bruce didn't know about Robin. But he wasn't the type to just throw away all his morals. Actually, he took his morals serious enough to go to far, but he would never steal something. Not anymore.

But he couldn't focus on that now. While he had been told the bad news, he got a tip off that an acid scientists were working on that could eat through anything was going to be stolen that night at midnight.

He had recognized the hand writing, but . . .

There that topic was again. Robin.

. . .

Robin ran down the hallway carefully. It was his job to retrieve some dangerous acid for Slade. Either way, Robin just couldn't seem to care. He had burned out. Slade wasn't going to get any resistance for a little while. Just until he got will to fight again. Just until then.

Robin jumped over a guard and kicked the one behind him. They tripped over each other and made themselves a barrier for the other guards.

Robin smiled out of habit. He didn't even enjoy it: It was just something he did.

He slipped into an empty lab and scanned a few files, looking for the objective. His reason for being alive.

To slave for Slade.

The dark room's door slammed closed. Robin frowned. He knew what was coming.

He turned, although there wasn't a sound from behind him since the door slammed, and smiled an empty grin.

"Hey, Batman. Long time no see." He felt empty, like he was going to fall dead any moment. He had wondered what seeing Batman again would do to him. Now he would know.

Batman stepped into the light and stared at Robin.

"Who are you?"

"It's sad you can't even remember me."

_"Robin!" Slade's calm voice rang in his ear, "That's enough."_

"I know you can't be Robin. He would never become a criminal."

"He never wanted to be."

_ "Robin, I'm warning you-"_

"Then why is he?" Batman's voice was soft, just like he used to talk to Robin when he had a bad day after school.

"He never had any choice." Robin stood completely still, not even in a fighting stance as the black knight interrogated him.

Batman eyed Robin. He couldn't just let him take something so important, no matter what his feelings for the boy were. But he wouldn't let him be a reporter's way to a raise. Batman chose to knock him out. Force him to see sense, but it would be different. Batman would just talk to him.

Right before Batman was about to make his move, bright blue electricity raced along Robin's body. He weakly collapsed to his knees.

_"I told you. Now, come back immediately." Slade said._

"Yes, Master." Robin whispered.

"Master? Robin, are you alright?" Batman grabbed Robin's shoulders, revealing all his weak spots to the enemy who knew them by heart.

_"Attack, Robin."_

Batman saw the warning look Robin gave him, and the deliberately slow attack that Batman quickly dodged. But after the warning, he was fighting for real.

"Robin! Why are you attacking me? And who did you call master?"

Robin smiled at Batman as he remembered every little thing that he had done to make him smile. Everything. Robin was attached to Batman more than to anyone else. He was like a little dog that followed him every where he went.

Robin felt tears race down his smiling face, "Why did you take me in? Did you feel bad for me? Did it improve your social status? Was that it?"

_"Shut up, Robin. Talking doesn't do either of us any good. Get what you came for and get out!" Slade yelled._

Robin felt his will to live slowly returning, but angering his captor wasn't going to do anything but get him in another fight he'd have to forfeit.

"No, Robin. I felt responsible. I had more than enough to give you and I thought I could help you. Besides, I liked you as a person, not a media spotlight." Batman wasn't the best at voicing his feelings, but he couldn't watch Robin suffer. Robin was his kid!

"Then why send me away. I told you where I was going. You could've sent a card. Anything was better than nothing."

"I didn't want to hurt you more. You didn't see the pain-"

_"He's lying to you, Robin. You're still hurt and he sees nothing in you that he wants anymore. That's why he doesn't send cards. That's why he doesn't call. He doesn't care." Slade said in a convincing voice._

Unfortunately, this time, Robin didn't believe Batman.

"It's sad I tipped you off, Batman. All you seem to do is lie to my face."

And Robin was gone with the files and the acid. Where no one could see, Batman fell to the ground and pounded the floor.

. . .

Bruce Wane had just sat down after he got back form his 'meeting'. Just relaxing his body, while his mind was curling up in the fetus position. Robin.

It had to be right then that Alfred walked in, "Sir, you have a few visitors."

Bruce sighed, "Thank you, Alfred. Let them in."

"Yes, sir." Said the kind old man as Bruce remembered a cold hard voice whispering fearfully.

_Yes, Master._ Bruce wanted to do many things to that monster that Robin was so afraid of.

_Yes, Monster._

Starfire stood in front of him, "Mr. Wane, we're sorry to be a burden, but-"

"We need your help." Beast Boy begged, already on his knees. Mr. Wane was surprised, not to see the boy on the floor, though he might've, if the boy hadn't been green. He smiled at Beast Boy.

"Please, all of you, have a seat. Be comfortable. Now continue."

"We think you know our friend." Cyborg began.

"It's Robin." Raven got right to the point.

Bruce stiffened. _Yes, Master. Yes, Monster._

. . .

Robin stood facing the masked man who sat facing away from him. He showed no fear, but he waited for the punishment in a slightly scared awe. He waited for a beating while his hands and feet were tied together, or more electricity. Maybe it would be more along the lines of permanently scaring him like he suspected Slade was.

"Robin." The voice was cool. Collected.

"Slade." Robin replied, knowing that he would pay for it.

Naturally, Slade replied in anger. Blue electricity arced across his body. Robin fell to the ground, wishing he had stayed in the laboratory longer. Wishing Batman . . . .

"Who am I?" Slade asked smoothly.

"Master." It utterly defeated Robin to say it so normally, even as the electricity caused him so much pain.

"Good." The electricity stopped.

Robin breathed a shaky breath as he stood, awaiting the punishment from the first offense he committed.

"Remove your mask."

Robin didn't comprehend, "What?"

"Remove your mask."

Robin was quiet. Without the mask, he wasn't Robin. He was a poor orphan who's father abandoned him as soon as he was out of high school. Pathetic.

"Now." Slade's voice was angry now.

"Yes, Master." Robin felt ashamed when his voice broken.

His hands shook when he took off his mask. Slade held out his hand for it. Robin brokenly handed it to him.

"Good." Slade smiled, "When you're older you'll see how this helped you. Maybe see me in a different light."

Robin knew what he was getting at, "I have a father." It wasn't as confident as the first time he had said it, but he meant it. Even in light of a recent event.

"It didn't sound like it."

"Every family has it's problems." Robin gave a slight smile.

"Yes, it seems so." Slade turned away from robin, "Rest now. Tomorrow will be harder."

"Yes, Master." Robin turned away. In every reflection he saw his brokenness through his eyes. His brown, brown eyes.

He wasn't Robin anymore. He was Dick Grayson. Jason Todd? Dick Grayson?

He didn't know anymore.

FudoTwin17: Sorry for a idiocy!

Cat: R&R!

Goldfish # 2: She's right: She is an idiot.

FudoTwin17: Hey!


	3. Guilty

FudoTwin17: Hi! For all you who like this story, I'm finally updating!

Cat: Surprise, surprise.

Goldfish # 1: No, that really is a surprise.

FudoTwin17: Anyways, I have a few things that I want you guys to know.

Dog # 1: Start with the first thing.

FudoTwin17: Okay. In the story, all the other Robins have served and died. I know, that didn't really happen and it's far from the truth, but that's what's going on.

Cat: Number two?

FudoTwin17: Some of my other stories are ending, so I have a poll for what you guys may want me to write next. Please vote!

Cat: Everything else will be spoilers for this story, so she doesn't own Teen Titans.

Chapter 3

Robin laid on his bed quietly. His brain seemed to hurt. It felt like five different personalities had been shoved inside his one body. He rubbed his aching temple.

_This is pretty bad. Or, at least what I've seen is bad. _One upbeat voice said. It sounded like Tim, but Robin wasn't sure. It felt like he was thinking it. Whenever one of them spoke it felt like he was thinking it.

_Duh, it's bad! Come on, idiot, survey it all together. It is bad! _Damian. It couldn't be anybody else.

_Boys, shut up. We need a plan. _That sure sounded like Stephanie. She seemed agitated, maybe even unnerved. That was a startling change, especially considering she was all in his mind. They all were.

_Oh, yeah, like arguing with my separate personalities is going to do me any good. _Dick Grayson. He knew that was Dick Grayson. He suddenly wondered who he really was. This was going to get confusing, not that it hadn't already been.

_Come on! We need a game plan! We can't let this guy win! He's just like any other bad guy! We'll clobber him! _That was definitely Jason. No questions asked.

_You're wrong there. Slade-_they all mentally flinched-_is the worst villain we have ever come across. Worse than Freeze, worse than Ivy, worse than Joker. _Grayson felt a little bad after he had stated that considering how Jason had gone.

Sensing his thoughts, Jason piped up. _Don't go there. No pity. I knew what I was getting myself into. We all did._

_ This guy is dangerous though._ Stephanie pointed out before silence could befall them. _He's the type of guy that Bats would lock us in the cave kicking and screaming before he would let us fight. _She completely ignored Grayson's wave of emotion when she thought of Bruce.

_What can we do? We just need to do as Slade says. It'll keep us alive and our friends alive. _That voice could only belong to Damian. He was too comfortable admitting it.

_You can't just bottle up your emotions like you can when you're Robin, Grayson. _He was again compelled to wonder if he was Dick. _You need to share or you're going to go insane. Trust me, I know. _It was Tim's voice.

_How am I supposed to share? _He sounded mad. He could feel anger. It was possible that was his thought.

_Well, start with how you feel about your friends continuously in danger. _Stephanie told him, sounding unsure. She wasn't used to helping others out with their emotions.

_Okay. _He began sarcastically. _I'm perfectly fine with putting my friends in danger of death every five seconds if I make a stupid decision like going after the bad guy while my team does the work of trying to save the city from permanent time freeze, because I had to be the hero in catching this freak._

_ That's good. You're learning how to vent, sort of. _Jason. Only he could see things in that light.

_Okay, next topic, Grayson. How do you feel about your mom and dad dying? _Damian asked.

_What does that have to do with anything?_ His voice was much more defensive than before. The topic brought pain and depression. It hurt. Was he really Grayson?

_I think the problem is deeper than your friends safety. It goes way past that. _Damian stated.

_He's right. _Tim agreed. _You've never been happy since . . . you know._

_ Get it off your chest. You need to. _Jason added.

Skulking, Robin almost growled out loud. Sometimes he really hated his mind. A LOT! _What am I supposed to say? I watched them fall. I ran to their sides, yelling at them to get up. I had just had an argument with my sister. My brother took her side. I had yelled at my parents when they tried to intervene. Then I was the only one who survived. How would that make you feel? _He felt the searing pain rip through his chest. Was he really Grayson?

_What about Bruce taking you in? _Jason asked.

_I . . . I didn't like it. _The voice stated calmly.

_Why not? _Tim asked, too excited to be speaking in this kind of situation.

_It felt like he was trying to replace my dad. _His voice was ashamed. _I was thankful for being taken out of Juvenile Detention, but it didn't feel right, even if he was a good man. _He flinched. They all did really. None of them could keep out the feelings of another.

_When you found out about Batman? _Stephanie pressed.

_I was excited. I had a real hero help me, save me, from my real life. _His voice was cold, especially in his head. Was the body owner actually Grayson?

_When you became Robin? _Damian tacked on.

_I was happy. I was going to end the pain. For good. I was going to carry on my family's legacy and help people. I was going to be more than some orphan. I was going to be the boy wonder. _His voice was still cold, even if it had taken up a lighter tone.

_When you left Batman? _Tim questioned.

_I was angry. I wanted him to give me a chance. I wanted to be more than a sidekick. I wanted to be my own person. _

_When I died? _Jason.

_Guilty._

_ When I died? _Tim.

_Guilty._

_ When I died? _Stephanie.

_Guilty._

_ When I died? _Damian.

_Guilty._

_ Guilty._

_ Guilty._

_ When you-_

_ Turned criminal-_

_ Hurt your friends-_

_ Almost killed-_

_ Hurt your friends-_

_ When you became Slade's apprentice?_

Robin felt himself lose track of which voice had said what. All he knew was how defenseless, hurt, alone, and weak he was. He had failed everyone. Starfire, Beast Boy, Stephanie, Jason, Cyborg, Tim, Raven, Damian, himself . . . .

Bruce.

_Bruce._

_ Bruce._

He sighed. Bruce only cared for Robin. He had replaced him many times. He hadn't come after him when he went to Jump. He didn't care.

Robin decided never to care about Bruce's opinions ever again.

His decision was flawed.

. . .

Slade's one eye watched the screen intently. He had been doing previous work, but when he looked at the screen, he was immediately assaulted by a strange occurrence.

Every few seconds, the boy's eyes would change color.

A deep, guilty blue was on his face that present moment. His facial features were pained, but impassive. His mannerisms were a bit off, but better than they had been as Robin. He was dark, as if he had seen a lot and suffered even more.

Then they turned a stony brown. They were dark, but didn't have as much pain as the first. It reflected fire, the burning and destruction. His mannerisms were more like Robin's, but a bit more flamboyant.

Then they were an extremely dark green. Bright, as if ignoring the torture they had endured. The mannerisms were loose, less trained, but as if they were used to damage.

Then they were cobalt. It was strained and darker than all but the first. They were the eyes of one who had killed, one who had hurt, one who had lost, but refused to give up. His mannerisms were tight, and would be easily broken by the first personality.

Then they were a bit too excited of a gray. The change was easily identifiable. His face was full of more hope, more . . . trust, but they were weary. His mannerisms were just the opposite. He seemed more relaxed and comfortable. He wasn't as trained in darkness.

None of them compared to the first.

"Interesting." He said to himself. The split personalities could be used to his advantage, but he decided to focus on the first personality. It was the most experienced and he could see the decision to stay was clear in his eyes.

Slade was going to have some issues, though. It would be harder to profile him if he had multiple personalities, especially with five. Then, each was different, yet unyielding. He would have to work harder, as if he had five apprentices instead of one. Breaking him would take longer, but he could do it.

He was the world's greatest and best manipulator.

. . .

Bruce stared at the kids in his house, scrutinizing everything about them. He had to be careful. He knew who they were supposed to be, but he had to make sure. Every one of them looked exactly like the newspaper clippings he had. He prayed he was right.

"You are the Teen Titans. You are led by Robin. He hasn't been in any major fights lately. As a matter of fact, neither have you. Why are you here." He kept his knowledge to a small point so that they didn't know about everything that he knew.

Starfire sighed, "We may be in over our heads. We . . . require assistance. The only one we could think of was you. We . . . we need help." Her eyes were pleading. In that instant he found out many things.

She and Robin had a thing. She was willing to take a hit for Robin. She was the girl.

But more importantly, he could see the pain in her eyes. She was afraid, hurt, and even guilty.

After her, he surveyed the rest of the team, doing a swift check on their feelings.

Cyborg, as they had called him in the news, looked afraid. He looked like a younger brother who was being taught how to lead would if his leader, his brother had been taken away. He avoided Bruce's eyes. Guilty.

The girl called Raven looked impassive, but to his trained eye, he could see raw fear. She was afraid of losing Robin, too. And it looked like there was something more. He narrowed his eyes.

She loved him, too.

He moved his speculative gaze over to the last of them. Beast Boy had bright eyes, but behind that he could see the untamed fear eating at him like a wild fire. Robin was his idol. This kid didn't want to loose him.

Batman paused.

He had seen this boy before. When he and Robin had helped the Doom Patrol a few years back. Beast Boy had immediately liked Robin. Beast Boy hadn't been watching close enough when the ape, Monsieur Mallah, had sneaked up up behind him. Robin had pushed him out of the way, getting hurt himself . . . .

His eyes widened, "The pills."

They stared at him.

"Does he use his medication?" He growled in a deadly fashion.

Starfire bravely stepped up, "We were unaware he had any. There are none in his room."

With that, Batman, not Bruce Wane, stood abruptly, turning to stride to the grandfather clock. The team followed him in shock. After it had slid open, he turned toward them.

"You will explain everything." With that, he motioned them in and stepped in himself. There was a lot of explaining to do.

FudoTwin17: Hoped you liked that!

Cat: Yeah, she worked a long time on it.

Goldfish # 1: Don't forget to vote!

FudoTwin17: R&R! Bye!


	4. Dead, Not Gone

FudoTwin17: Hi. I'm here to tell you I'm really sorry, but that I do have a new chapter.

Cat: They got the memo.

Goldfish # 1: I'm sure they did.

FudoTwin17: Yeah . . . .

Leo The Rat: She does NOT own Teen Titans as much as she wants to.

Chapter 4

"Pills?" Starfire asked the dark knight. She was curious, but so far he hadn't answered one of her questions. The rest of the team stared at her as if she were insane. She didn't care. She would rather be insane than live without Robin.

Finally, after he had done whatever it was that he was doing, he turned toward them. "I will answer questions after I understand the situation. Cyborg, explain now."

Cyborg was shocked to be acknowledged by Batman. It took him a second to find his voice. And that was exactly why he was chosen.

Batman, the greatest detective in the world, looked for one of the most uncomfortable. They all lost a friend, or in Star and Raven's cases, something more, but he was the worst off. Robin had been grooming him for leadership. He must have seen something in him and made it his duty to mold the other teen. Whatever reason Robin had, the detective could see it was a good call.

However, Cyborg wasn't ready yet.

He was just learning the basics when the situation caused him to step up. His training without knowing he was being trained was interrupted and he was stuck in a bad situation. He didn't know how to lead yet.

He was basically left fending for an incomplete team against his unknown teacher while trying to save a loved one. Batman knew that it would hurt him and the rest of the team, but he prayed that little damage was done.

"Ah, yes, sir." He fidgeted. "We had reason to believe that there was a bomb that was going to freeze time around Jump City forever. When we were following that lead, Robin was attacked. He told us to keep going, so we did. We found that the machine was a fake. At that time we were shot. Nanobots were placed in our blood streams. Robin was being forced to be the villain, Slade's apprentice. We had no time to get rid of the nanobots, so we came after him. We failed to save him. Then they relocated. We came here, because we need help."

Batman was at the computer in the blink of an eye. "What do you know about Slade?"

They all looked at each other. Raven sighed, stepping forward. "He is extremely dangerous. He is a technical genius, master manipulator, and he has an obsession with Robin." She sighed before standing up straighter, "If I may, I sort of know more."

He looked at her curiously. That was enough of an answer for him.

"I had a brief brush with his mind. He wants Robin to see him as a sort of father. He thinks of Robin as his," she looked as if some fowl taste were in her mouth, "son. I think he lost a son, one a lot like Robin who willingly worked under him. I also got a glimpse of what might have been his wife about to kill him. I believe she tried to kill him, but failed. I think she scared him though, being why he wears a mask and only shows one eye-"

Batman turned around suddenly, "One eye?"

"Uh, yeah, Mr. Batman, sir." Beast Boy stuttered. Before he even finished Batman was typing, resulting in a profile that he brought before them.

"Deathstroke, also known as Slade Wilson. A mercenary. His hideout is unknown. This is the man that has Dick?"

They all stared at him uncomfortably. "Yes."

Batman stared at them, finally putting the clues together. "Why don't you use Robin's read name?"

Star, seeing everyone shift under his paralyzing eyes, cleared her throat. "He did not take off the mask. We knew him solely as Robin, our leader."

His eyes narrowed. This was bad.

"Why?" Asked Raven, who just got up the nerve to ask.

Batman sighed. He didn't want to tell them. Even if they were Robin's friends, he never wanted to let this secret fly.

"The Robins have all had problems." He began.

"Robins?" Cyborg asked.

"There were five. Your Robin, Dick Grayson was the first. The second was Jason Todd. The third Tim Drake. Fourth Stephanie Brown. Fifth Damian Wane."

"So they are like siblings? Where are these friends?" Star excitedly asked, looking around as if to find them spying on the older ones conversation.

"Dead."

She froze. She wasn't used to death. If only she knew how used to it Robin had been.

He continued as if he'd never been interrupted. "Damian explained it to me once. During the first moments of no longer wearing the mask, you don't know who you are. All their personalities would have been pushed inside one body. He wouldn't know who he was, his thoughts would be clouded and confusing. He wouldn't know who he really was. It could cause nausea, dizziness, and memory problems. He may remember things he never saw or did. The different personalities in his one body would be enough to cause extreme issues. One being that whatever personality is in the process of thought, that personality has the control of the body."

"What about the pills?" Cyborg asked, shrinking when Bruce's gaze fell on him.

Bruce glanced at Beast Boy. "Injury. It's there to help with pain."

"H-How bad would the pain be?" Star asked. Batman could sense her unease.

"Bad enough that he would need them."

That was bad.

Very, very bad.

FudoTwin17: Yeah, I'm sorry it's so short, but you know. Problems.

Cat: Might as well tell them.

FudoTwin17: Okay. A dude dropped his backpack on my head early in the morning, and then dropped everything on my head right after. You've heard the cause, now the effect. I have been having severe headaches and lapses in vision. This could go on for days to months. Please be patient with my reviewing. This is causing serious issues, so I kinda want to be careful. I promise I will update as much as I can, but it's hard. I'm sorry.

Goldfish # 1: R&R! Bye!


	5. Protect Those Passed

FudoTwin17: Hey! Long time no see!

Cat: . . . .

FudoTwin17: Uh, right. Let me restart. Hey! Long time no type!

Goldfish # 1: Lame.

FudoTwin17: Give me a break!

Cat: She kinda should have one. After all, after her dad took away her computer she couldn't type, and then she got hacked twice.

Goldfish # 1: . . . .

FudoTwin17: Know what, I'm just gonna start this chapter. I don't own whatever I'm writing for.

Chapter 5

Dick sighed. At that moment, he was taking a long shower. He let the water soothe his aching muscles, ignoring the stabbing pain of protest they would give when hot water hit him. Even the scars felt a little better after the liquid flowed over them.

And it felt almost nice to be alone in complete solitude. They all went away during washing times.

He rolled his shoulders, feeling his shoulder blades moving even feeling nicer than usual. Usually he wouldn't take long showers, but since he came into Slade's hands, he took extra time to shower or bathe. Why? Simply because it could annoy Slade. If he couldn't do anything real to Slade, he could at least give him high water bills.

He knew the idea made no sense, but that was to be expected. He had gotten it before he even started the water. Probably Tim's idea. Oh, well. It didn't matter anyways.

Goodness, he doubted that Slade even paid his water bills. He . . . actually, Dick had never thought about this before. Did he pay water bills? If he didn't, wouldn't that mean no water?

He found himself smirking even at thinking about something that mattered so little. All that really mattered was bringing Slade to justice and escaping.

He felt the water begin to cool. Sighing, he turned it off and started drying off. Once he was in comfortable sleepwear, he fell into his mattress. It made his body begin to ache anew. Who cared really though if they slept on something so unusable? He was a hero. He used to sleep on floors and stuff like that. Who said anything had to be nice for him? He was the one who gave things up so others could have those things.

He blinked. He wasn't tired at all for some reason. Right after his brutal beating, he thought that he'd be asleep for a week or more, but he felt, well, energetic. _Great. _

_Can't sleep? _A voice asked. Oh, Stephanie. Sometimes, he just wanted to be left alone in his mind. Was it toomuch to ask for? To besane?

_Yep!_ Replied little Tim happily.

_Yeah. _Jason added on. _Batman always said that sleeping is for weenies._

Whoever it was that was in control of the body rolled it's eyes.

A twinge of pain made him blink. He hated to think of Batman and Robin. Why? Because of how many of them he lost. It always hurt to think of the Robins. All of them had been killed in some awful, unspeakable way. Batman . . . Batman let it happen. And he was always just using the Robins. How many times had he replaced Robin? Four. And every one of them died.

He blinked, in a flash he was overwhelmed with flashes of pain, death. A crowbar, laughter, an explosion, Batman, the feeling of not being able to breathe, mobsters, knives, a warm hand, Two-face, helplessness, burning, drugs, Scarecrow-

The body, somehow being controlled by everyone at once, bolted upright in bed, throwing the covers of him. In the dark, he just breathed. Cold sweat covered his body. His hands clenched fist-fulls of black hair.

What was happening to him?

. . .

"Wh-What happened to them?" Raven asked quietly. She could feel the pain radiating off of Batman, but she needed to know what it was that Robin was experiencing.

Batman turned away. "Jason was kidnapped by the Joker. After being beaten, he was locked in a warehouse with a bomb. I didn't get to him in time to save him. Dick, I think, blamed himself for not being here to save him. He was out of town. He almost never left after that." Starfire gasped. Batman's fists clenched. "Tim was killed by a psychopath who dressed like me. Strangled." Starfire's lip trembled. Although the rest of them were taking the news in shock, she found it worse and worse. "Stephanie was fired. She tried to prove herself to me, but she ended up causing a gang war. She was beaten badly, almost to the point of death. She was taken to the hospital as Stephanie instead of Robin, but she died. The doctors couldn't do anything." Starfire bit her lip. Batman closed his eyes. He might as well tell the whole story for Damian. "Dick, refusing to lose another Robin, went with Damian on a mission to stop Scarecrow. They were both hit with gas, living through their worst nightmares. When they woke, they were chained in a warehouse, Scarecrow tortured them for days in which Dick supported and protected Damian the best he could. Scarecrow got tired of playing eventually and decided to get rid of them. He injected Damian first and before he could inject Dick, I appeared. Damian was killed by his worst nightmares. Dick couldn't stay here anymore. He told me that he was leaving for anywhere far away from here and that I was never to let another bird take up the mantle or he was coming back to get them. He told me that I could tell people that I fired him from the role. That's when he left for Jump City." They stared at Batman.

They were speechless. They had no idea that Robin had such a dark past.

Silently, they prayed that Slade knew nothing of his past. It sounded so dark . . . . They were afraid that Slade would use it to his advantage.

. . .

Their prayers weren't answered.

"Dick, I did a little research on you. Why didn't you tell me about them?" Slade asked with an evil glint in the one eye that Robin could see.

Dick was silent. His dark blue eyes sent a dark glare that would make any other villain flinch, but only made Slade smile. His fists clenched, waiting for the blows to be made.

"Poor little Jason. How helpless do you think he felt when the Joker hit him over and over with that crowbar?" Inside Robin's mind, Dick heard a small whimper. Without even thinking about it, Dick blocked the other personalities from listening. "What about Tim? Watching his mentor suffocate him? How betrayed, hurt do you think he felt? Oh, and poor Stephanie?" He felt his hands begin to shake. His vision was turning red, but he refused to release his mental hold on the others. He wouldn't let them out of his protection. "How much do you think it hurt when she was beaten? All the knives and flying fists? All the cuts and bruises. It must have hurt. You know that. You were with her in the ambulance. You were the one who found her bleeding out in the alley. Oh, and we can't forget little Damian. The youngest of the bunch. How long do you think you spent with your nightmares? And when they-"

"Shut up!" Dick yelled, launching himself at Slade.

As if he predicted it, Slade sidestepped and grabbed his arm. He tried to lock his arm behind his back, but instead Dick flipped, knocking Slade's feet from underneath him. Dick tried to stop on his mask, but Slade rolled out of the way and knocked Dick's feet from underneath him. Eventually, Slade managed to bar Dick's arm, but he smirked.

"Well done, Dick. You are definitely better trained than your counterparts. But you still have a long way to go." His voice was that of one who was gloating.

Dick let out a fierce growl.

Slade released him. "You have to learn to control your temper."

"You should first." Dick growled, thankful that the rest of his personalities couldn't hear, see, or feel anything that was going on.

Slade's eyes narrowed, although Dick could only see one eye. Dick's head snapped to the side as he was back-handed.

"You should also learn to control your tongue." He growled sharply.

Angrily, but a bit stupidly, Dick stuck his tongue out at Slade. "I can control it just fine."

"Then I advise you do it." Slade turned his back on Dick, who immaturely made rude faces at him. Of course, Dick didn't want to be there, but he couldn't really do much. He figured that he might as well enjoy himself by making fun of his captor.

"Go to your room." Slade stated. "I'll send my niece in to clothe your wounds."

"Your niece?" Dick questioned almost immediately. "Where has she been?"

"She was on a mission I sent her on. She is back. Now, go." Slade commanded with a steel edge.

Dick clenched his teeth. He hated taking orders.

But, despite that, he did as he was told. Once he laid in his room, he closed his eyes. He didn't like this at all. He turned on his side, a bad mistake as it immediately brought extreme pain. Agony ripped through his side and his face burned.

He shielded his personalities from the pain, but they started talking immediately about what parts of the conversation that he let them know about.

_Control yourself? CONTROL YOURSELF! _Damian was yelling. _He can go-_

_ Damian!_ Dick interrupted him.

As the other boy quieted down, Stephanie started talking. _He HIT you? He hit you! _

Dick didn't deny it.

_Monster. _Jason growled.

_Evil. He deserves whatever he gets. _Tim agreed.

They all started cursing Slade. Dick just sighed. They all looked up to Dick as their older brother. That didn't stop when they ended up in his head.

He painfully moved onto his back, looking at the door as it creaked open. His eyes widened when he saw her.

"Hi. Can I come in?"

FudoTwin17: I know, I'm evil for giving you guys a cliffie. But, you know, I felt like it was time to introduce my OC. Plus, I kinda wanted to mess with you guys. He, he, he . . . .

Cat: As you see, she is evil.

Goldfish # 1: Good thing she's going to be far away from me for a while.

FudoTwin17: Oh, right. It's vacation time! Bye! Review, please!


	6. Criminal Heroics

FudoTwin17: Hey! I'm back!

Cat: Yeah. You should get back to writing. You did leave for a while.

FudoTwin17: Yeah, I guess you're right. Okay, I don't own Teen Titans.

Robin: Thankfully.

Goldfish # 1: You kinda deserved that.

FudoTwin17: Yes, I guess I did.

Chapter 6

"I can come back if now isn't a good time." She said. She spoke softly and seemed quiet and distanced. She looked about fifteen with long black hair with edges of dark blue. Her eye was violet and her skin was perfect. She wore a sleeveless belly-shirt that was blue with a red X going across it with the same blue color of shorty-shorts. Now, the thing that really shocked him. Half of her face was robotic, with her eye glowing red. Her neck, stomach, and part of her left arm were skin while the rest of her was robotic. Unlike Cyborg, the metal seemed dark. It had mainly grays, and it didn't glow to life in a bright blue.

"No, now's fine." He replied.

_That's his niece? _Jason asked incredulously.

She walked forward, a first aid kit in her hand. She opened it, looking at his face unhappily. She pulled out what looked like a disinfectant. After wetting a cloth with it, she began patting his bruised face gently with it. It still hurt.

"What did you do?" She asked.

"I told Slade that I could control my tongue." He replied. "And added a few rude comments."

Stephanie snorted. The girl watched as his eyes shifted to a dark green. "A few rude comments doesn't even begin to describe it."

She smirked. "Yeah, I can tell by the blisters. How hard did he hit you?"

His eyes turned back to the incredible dark blue. "Who knows."

She smiled at him before realizing something. "Oh, sorry. I forgot to tell you my name. You probably know just about nothing other than what Slade told you. My name is Diane. I am his niece, but I'm more of a slave than anything."

He looked at her, his eyes becoming the color of dark chocolate. "He sends you on missions and stuff. Can't you just leave?"

A sad look entered her purple eye. "I can't. See this?" She gestured to her metal parts. "I am a machine. He controls me as one. On my back is my control panel. It is wired in a way that I can't disobey him."

"Well," His eyes turned back to the dark blue of Dick Grayson, "you know I am a hacker. I could-"

"No, if it could have been changed, I would have." She pulled a necklace from her shirt. It had a gold chain and, on the end, was a locket with the emblem of Slade. "It shocks me or any other being that touches the panel. I will forever be in his control."

He sighed, complete understanding in his eyes. It seemed as if they were the same.

. . .

Batman frowned, thinking about things. It was late at night, but . . . with the problems going on they needed to be informed. His eyes narrowed as he called the headquarters of the Justice League. This wouldn't be pretty.

Unfortunately, it was Barry who answered. "Yo, Bats!"

"Meeting in fifteen minutes." With that, he shut off the transmission. This wasn't going to be pretty.

. . .

When Batman walked in the room, Superman, Martian Man-hunter, the Flash, the hawks, Wonder Woman, Green Arrow, and Aquaman were waiting for him. After he entered, he heard them gasp at the fact that he had someone with him. They Titans shifted uncomfortably.

"Batman!" Green Arrow complained. "You can't bring others in here without-"

"You need to hear what they have to say." He interrupted. Everyone in the room looked looked at him. They wanted him to explain. And he would.

"Robin has been captured." He stated simply. Everyone in the room shifted uncomfortably, realizing that something really bad must have happened for the Titans to go to Batman and Batman come to them. "He is being forced into a apprenticeship for Deathstroke."

"An apprenticeship!" Gasped Wonder Woman. "How dare that-"

"And we haven't been able to rescue him. He appears to be being completely controlled by the man. And what's worse is that this man is someone who has been on the League's list for a long time. We haven't been able to capture this man."

"And he has Robin?" Hawkgirl gasped. "How did he even get Robin?"

After that, the situation was explained by the strange group. The League wasn't happy. They had helped raise him since he was eight. There was no way that they could accept that he had been taken by this villain. It must have been a long time since it had been explained, because Superman's voice seemed quiet when he spoke.

"What can we do?"

"If you ever encounter him, you have to try to contain him. Get him into different clothing as well." Batman's words seemed strange to them all. Briefly, he explained about his last encounter with his only living Robin.

Starfire, even in it's short summary, gasped. The thought of his being in pain whenever he disobeyed seemed like too much. "We have to find him."

The Titans nodded. It was completely true.

. . .

Especially right then.

It had been a long training day. Robin partially thought it had been punishment for his recent behavior. He snorted at the thought. Slade had had him blindfolded and basically attacked him at random times. He made him do every technique by feel. He could feel his aching muscles groan in protest for just moving.

_Does that guy ever give it a rest? _Tim complained in his mind.

Before he could continue, Dick answered. _No._

Dick slipped out of the costume for a well deserved shower. At least he had some time for sane ignoring of water bills. He frowned, wondering if his friends were alright. The last he had seen them, they were kneeling in pain. They had been right there, hurting. He hoped they wouldn't be in any more pain. After all, he wasn't going to do anything Jurassic as trying to quit or anything. That would just be stupid.

Too bad he didn't know that the Titans hadn't gotten rid of them after the . . . event.

He spent time just wondering what would be happening right then if he hadn't failed in trying to save his friends. Maybe he would be back in Jump City, eating pizza with Beast Boy and Cyborg. But, even though he wanted it, he sensed he wouldn't be able to go back to the Titans. Not after this, anyways.

He sighed, not wanting to think about this anymore. Instead he fantasized about if he hadn't been taken or if the other Robins had survived. He needed something good to think about. Of course, since none of it would really happen, it was sort of a bad thing to think about.

But it made him feel better.

After he had stepped out of the shower and clothed himself, he found Diane sitting on his bed with a tray of food. Since he had recently found out that she did most of the cooking, he decided to eat it. She herself was nibbling on a piece of toast, obviously hungry but unable to eat.

The two sat and talked for a little while. It was almost nice. If they were normal teens in a normal place with normal security cameras on them, they might have actually been happy. They might have been perfectly content.

They weren't.

. . .

After the meeting, Superman found himself speaking with Batman, who he knew had gone against every instinct he had to even have the meeting. It was rare that he admitted he needed help. But, this was Robin, the first and the last Robin. The one that was still alive.

"I will be looking out for him." Superman promised. He would come to Gotham as much as he could to make sure that Robin would be fine. He remembered when Robin was eight, just starting the job. That was the first time that he had seen or met Superman. He smiled sadly, thinking about it.

. . .

What was he thinking! _Superman had ranted to himself. _A kid in Gotham! He'd be dead in no time! _He had known that Batman had taken a kid in for little over a month and hadn't been able to go over to yell at Batman himself. _

_ Right then, he found himself flying through Gotham. It wasn't nice to be ranting at Batman, but . . . HE LET AN EIGHT YEAR OLD KID BE HIS PARTNER! _

_ "What are you doing?" Came a hard voice. To his surprise, it wasn't Batman. Instead, it was the eight year old kid in green, red, gold, and black. His eye mask was narrowed. He didn't seem to like Superman in his home. "Batman says that no other superhero belongs in Gotham." Then he smirked. "Not that meeting with you isn't amazing, Mr. Superman." It was that that caught him off guard. The kid seemed able to switch between two different emotions in seconds. _

_ "I'm here to speak with Batman." Superman stated, smiling at the kid._

_ "Let me guess. It's about how he's letting an eight year old be his 'sidekick'?" It was then that Superman caught the slight accent. Had he just learned English or something?_

_ "I-"_

_ "Because if you are, I would advise you leave now. I'm not going to stop, because you told me to, Mr. Superman." Those words had shocked him. No one really said things like that to him. It was a major shocker."_

_ Even after he accepted the fact that the kid wasn't going to stop, he watched over him to make sure that nothing would happen to him. Of course, the kid must have noticed, because he would say things out loud once in a while to make sure that he understood something. _

_ The kid was strong willed and possibly even more stubborn than his mentor._

_. . ._

The kid that survived was paying for it, too. He was living through an apprenticeship that might make him have to kill someone. Robin hated killing. He let Zucco go. He didn't kill the man who took everything from him.

This monster was going to scar Dick. Scars didn't heal. They only faded, their effects slightly dimmer. Dick had enough scars.

Superman was determined to make this scar the least damaging as possible.

He prayed he would succeed.

. . .

That night, Robin was jumping roof tops to get to his destination. He was on his way to Wane Labs, where a new weapon was being stored. The weapon, announced to the press just a few days ago, was to help the military. He remembered how dumbfounded and obviously unhappy Wane was with it.

He had no clue it was there.

And now, Robin, no, Dick was being sent to steal it. The half of his face that was hurt and blistered at least made him less recognizable. As he hurried along, he noticed a girl. She was in an alley. His first instinct was to watch her, make sure she was alright.

And his instinct was right. A guy came up behind her, calling her. She yelled back at him. Dick guessed that the guy was her ex. That was bad. The guy grabbed her wrist and swung her to the wall, getting in her face.

_"Keep going, Richard." _Slade commanded over his communicator. Knowing there was a bad chance of any vigilante coming to save her, he knew there was only one way to get Slade to let him do this.

"Master, please, let me-"

_"No." _Slade answered before he knew what was going on.

"Please, Master. I can't do this knowing that something is going down-"

_"Do as I have told you, apprentice." _Slade growled.

"I-" He was cut off by flowing electricity.

_"I have made myself very clear. Do as you have been told." _Dick bit his lip, praying that something could be done.

It took him only minutes to get to the desired destination and get what he was after. Once he reached it, he took the weapon and disappeared outside, only thinking of the poor girl. His mind was spinning. He didn't notice her until she stepped right in front of him.

"Stop!" She growled. He froze. He was fearful of seeing Batman again, but Batgirl? Batgirl was too much.

When she saw him, finally connected the dots on who he was, which was probably very hard with his unrecognizable face, she gasped. "Dick?"

She stepped forward, touching the hurt side of his face. "What are you-What happen-Why?"

Her worried voice seemed to hit him, like a slap to the face, even if it wasn't as bad as the slap from Slade. He pushed her hand away. "Don't waste time on me and my mess! There's a woman-"

_"Dick, get out now!" _Slade ordered.

Dick didn't even flinch. He had to get her help. "-east of here. She's in an alley, a boy with her. You have to help her."

"But why can't you?"

He disappeared into thin air, without answering. She frowned, not knowing how it was possible that he could disappear like that. Or how-how-

_How he could be a criminal. _She needed to speak with Batman. NOW!

FudoTwin17: Hope you liked it!

Cat: Yep.

FudoTwin17: Now, I have introduced Diane and given you guys Batgirl. Yay!

Goldfish # 1: Boo.

FudoTwin17: . . . Um, review? Bye!


	7. Robin and Timmy-Bird

FudoTwin17: Hey, guys. Long time no see!

Cat: Something like that.

FudoTwin17: I'm sorry it's been so long, but a lot of stuff has happened. The only one I really think I should share, though, is that my last living goldfish, Goldfish # 1, is in the great bowl in the sky.

Dog # 3: Why? WHY!

FudoTwin17: Shut up, dog. You didn't even care.

Dog # 1: Uh, okay, then. She doesn't own Teen Titans.

FudoTwin17: Oh, and I'm changing

Chapter 6

Dick was sure to make no sound as he dejectedly walked toward one of the many windows in the clock tower. He didn't want to be caught, especially with what he was doing. His eyes scanned the many shadows cautiously.

_We're finally going to escape! _Jason's joyous voice rang through his head. _Get away from this place!_

_ Back to the Titans. _Tim thought happily.

Despite Tim's happiness, they all knew that he couldn't return to the Titans. Even if the plan did work and he managed to escape, it didn't work that way. He would, of course, still visit the Titans and all, but he wouldn't be able to face them every day knowing how he was manipulated into so many things that were, not only against his will, but against his moral code.

He bit his lip, not wanting to think about it anymore. His gloved hands took a grip on the window sill.

Tim was the one who came up with the plan in the first place. The plan was overall simple. It went that he would open the window of the clock tower, and swing over to the building right next to the tower. It's height and convenient location had made it a favorite of all the Robins at one point or another and Barbara could be seen there almost every night a bit after midnight. Once over, they would place a piece of paper with the hideout's location and a message from Dick in the mouth of the gargoyle. Right after that, they would be back in the tower with neither Slade or his niece knowing the difference.

The problem? Dick had found many different problems with this plan. What if no one found the piece of paper in the Gargoyle's mouth? What if they were caught on their way out? What if they were too loud? And what if the wind was too strong? There was no guarantee that the plan would work.

But Dick had agreed anyway. If he didn't do it, then Tim would as soon as he managed to get control of his body, probably while he was asleep. And if Tim were caught then Dick didn't know how quickly he could take over. And he knew very well how violent Slade could get in an instant. His bruised face was enough to point that out to him.

_Get on with it, Grayson. He'll be back any moment. _Damian's voice rang through his head. Despite the obvious message, there was worry behind the words.

_Shut up, Damian. _Stephanie complained. _You're just distracting him._

Dick took a deep breath as he got a good hold. Then, he pulled. The window, barely making it up an inch, let out a loud creaking noise. Dick froze, listening.

Diane was still humming in the kitchen, acting completely normal. And he couldn't hear the metallic clang of Slade's footsteps. He sighed in relief. He had just went back to pushing up the window when-

"Murph!" He exclaimed.

_Dick! _Jason exclaimed in shock.

A hand had roughly clamped down on his mouth while the other grasped one of his wrists. The pressure on his wrist forced him to the ground where a boot roughly dug itself into his chest. He felt the gloved hand being removed from his mouth as he looked up at the man that he really didn't want to see.

Slade stared down at him. "Trying to escape, Dick?"

As Dick locked his alternate personalities in his mind, he smiled up at Slade. "What, I can't even open a window? That's sad, Slade."

Slade put more pressure on Dick's stomach, but, despite a small gasp, he didn't correct himself. Slade pursed his lips. "What were you doing?"

_I'm sorry! _Tim exclaimed inside his mind. _It really was a stupid idea! I'm sorry!_

_ Not the time, Timmy. _Dick stated in his mind. He couldn't fully block them for some reason, just remove the painful parts. But he didn't want them to see this. Not any of them. _Look away, guys._

_What? _Damian asked in horror and shock. _No!_

_ Damian, not the time to argue. Trust me, you don't want to see this. _Despite their only being personalities, ghosts if you will, each of them knew how to back into the darkness. They all knew how to not look at something. But now, none of them would.

_But Dick! _Stephanie had just started to argue.

_Steph-_

"Were you listening, Dick?" Slade's honey smooth voice questioned. "Or do I have to repeat?"

"No need to repeat, but I think I already pointed out that I was opening a window-" Dick quit talking when a steel boot-tip smashed into his temple. It hurt, made his vision a little wobbly, but it didn't do any real damage and didn't mess with his concentration on keeping a wall between himself and his other personalities, siblings.

Slade stepped off Dick to pace. Dick propped himself up on his elbows, but didn't rise anymore than that. He knew it was pointless.

"Tell me exactly what you were doing." Slade commanded.

Somewhere in the back of Dick's mind, Tim whimpered. _It's okay, Timmy-bird. _Dick cooed. "Why? You already know I was opening a window, so there's really no point." He smirked as Slade began circling him like a vulture, actually, exactly like a vulture. "In fact I think you know exactly what I'm doing. Don't you? Like now, I'm-"

From behind him, Slade sent his boot into Dick's elbow. He hissed in pain as he fell back on the ground. He heard both the angry growl of Slade and the horrified whimper of Jason. He, being so young when he was killed, must have only been that age in Dick's mind as well. Not only that, but his death was so brutal that this must have been almost as traumatizing as that experience for him. Dick was slightly thankful that the extreme agony in his elbow was shielded from his alternate personalities. It hurt. A lot.

Slade's voice was right next to Dick's ear when he whispered in a bone-chilling voice, "Tell me, what are you doing now? Anything you still have to say?"

Despite the pain, Dick smiled at the evilly glinting mask and the horrible eye that he could see through it. "Yeah. Only cowards attack a man while he's down."

Dick didn't even try to block the next attack. Four screams echoed through his mind as he worked to not let out screams of agony. If he showed how much it hurt, they would be even more scared. He didn't need or want that.

. . .

Bruce just let her rant. She needed to get it off her chest. And, not only that, but he didn't know if he could interrupt her if he wanted. "I just saw him! You obviously know something! You're the freaking Batman! But why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you tell me something was going on with Dick? Why didn't you tell me the TITANS WERE IN TOWN?"

"Barbara-" Well, his ears were staring to hurt.

"NO, BRUCE! Dick is my best friend! You can't believe that I would just NOT WANT TO KNOW! AND YOU!" She spun around to face the Titans and put her finger right in Cyborg's face. "You! I-"

It was never known what she was going to say, because right then the screen flashed on to reveal-

"Slade." Batman growled.

"Hello, Batman, Batgirl." His eye flashed toward the others. "Titans."

"What do you want?" Starfire asked him, her eyes glowing a bright green in anger.

"What do I want? I want to warn you." As Slade began his monologue, the bats seemed to focus in behind him. Although Slade was the only thing in the light, Barbara could swear she could see a dark figure in the background, although it was almost impossible to see. Her ears strained to hear a light slap of some liquid. She glanced at Bruce, his eyes trained on the screen. He heard it, too.

Slade backed into the darkness next to the figure. It was too dark, though-

Then the lights came on.

Gasps of horror could be heard. There Dick hung. His wrists were handcuffed to a pipe above him, and that was the best part. The bruised part of his face along with the fine side were now littered with cuts. From his mouth, blood, dried and fresh, were running down his chin. His hair was knotted with dried blood. The left side of his face had a huge purplish bruise that resembled a boot-tip. On the side of his neck was what looked like-like crowbar marks. Barbara nearly choked, remembering Tim's death. His top, which hadn't been removed but torn to pieces, was there in strips. They could see old scars as well as the small new cuts and purplish, bluish, and yellowing bruises. Bruce's eyes ran up his arms, which were covered in shiny crimson. He could make out that his left elbow was broken and his pinky was bent at an abnormal angle. His right shoulder was dislocated. His pants, which had been torn in various areas, yet were mostly in tact, were soaked through with blood. One of his boots were gone, showing off a bloody foot with the ankle bent wrong. Not only that, but Bruce could see that his ward's wrists were raw with struggling against the cuffs. So the cuffs had been put on around halfway through the beating. With him hanging an inch off the floor by his bloody wrists, it looked that way.

Slade smiled at the looks of horror sent his way. "This is your warning. If you keep searching, it will get worse." He cupped Dick's face with one of his hands and lifted his face. The simple movement sent Dick into a flurry of coughing, a look of extreme agony passing over his face for each cough. It was then that Bruce realized what was going on. His eyes went to Dick's battered chest. He had broken ribs. At least two. Probably four. And definitely had more bruised ones. He most likely had a few cracked ones as well.

Suddenly, his eyes opened. Dark blue skies of agony. They were out of focus, disoriented with pain. But then they snapped into focus. His eyes were determined, ready.

His family, friends, refused to give up on him.

. . .

_Dick? Dick, please! Talk to us! _Stephanie begged.

_Grayson! Talk to us! _Damian's scared voice begged him.

Dick had been hearing their voices for hours, unable to do anything but breathe and block out the pain. In a way, that made it worse. But he didn't care. He couldn't care. He had to keep them from feeling it too. But Damian's voice, admittedly scared, sort of knocked him out of his trance. He blinked.

_Wha . . . . _That personality felt foggy, bad. It hurt.

_Dick? _Asked Tim. His voice wavered with fear.

_I'm okay. _He lied. _It wasn't your fault._

_ Okay? You were tortured for hours! And-And then you quit-you didn't say . . . . _Stephanie exclaimed, her voice, although loud and clear in his head, sounded as if she were going to cry, despite not having control over the body.

_I'm a big boy. I can handle it. _He told her softly. He was used to reassuring all of them when they were alive. It was the same, even with them no longer . . . .

_Bu-But-_

_ It's okay, Jason. I'm fine. _There was suddenly a brilliant light in front of his closed lids.

_It's my fault! Di-Di . . . . _Tim sounded like he couldn't say anything else.

_No, it's not. You know it's not. Nothing-none of this-is your fault. I can promise you that, Timmy. _Dick reassured him, opening his eyes to the bright, horrid light. It burned his eyes, almost blinding him with pain for a moment, but he kept going. _No one blames you. It's his fault and his anger was building. He would have done something like this even if we hadn't tried to leave. _He suddenly saw everyone. There was a screen. Barbara, Bruce, Starfire, Raven, Cyborg, Beast Boy, and, in the background seemingly unknown, was Alfred. They all had similar looks of horror on their faces.

Right then, Dick snapped out of whatever daze he had been in and stared at them with all the determination he had. _Your idea was awesome. Everything that has happened since our capture has been Slade's fault. Don't blame yourself. _Despite it all, Dick could feel waves of pain and guilt from his other personality.

_Look at them._ Dick commanded. _They may be scared. They may be ready to break, but they aren't giving up. So lets not give them reason to give up. We won't bow._

He let them stare out at Bruce and Barbara, and even his team.

He let every good memory fill his mind, let it overcome them. Swinging on a trapeze. The first time that he met the bat. The rush from the first time using a grappling hook. How he felt when he first met Barbara. All the times he put a bad guy in jail or saved an innocent. The first time he met Jason. The first time they put someone in jail together. The feeling of his fingers through Barbara's-Batgirl's hair. When Tim practiced his rope tying on him. Tim becoming Robin. Taking pictures when Tim first beat Batman at chess (the first and last time). Picking Stephanie up after a bad fall. Singing an old Romani lullaby when she had boy trouble and then hanging the boy from a tree in the morning. Teaching her a few tricks. Helping her with her Spanish class. Meeting Damian. Holding Damian when he knew that Batman-Bruce-his dad couldn't do it. Teaming up with Damian to take down some of the worst villains. The feeling of Barbara's soft hands in his and the taste of her lips. The feeling of power as he stared down the Batman and told him no more Robins. The first time that Starfire kissed him. The laughter of Cyborg and Beast Boy through the Tower. Raven and his laughter as they secretly made fun of them.

Suddenly more memories seemed to join his. The hold of his mother's hand. The rush as he ran from the cops, laughing. The sudden daring as he saw the Batmobile. The joy at the thought of even being able to be Robin, the boy wonder. Meeting Dick Grayson, the original Robin. Flying through Gotham. Standing beside Batman and Dick proudly. Stopping his first criminal alone. Teaming up with Dick. Blushing furiously as Supergirl kissed his forehead on Valentines Day after giving her a card. Listening to Dick laughing at him afterwards. Spying on Dick and Barbara. His first visit to Star City. Meeting the League. Joy at the possibility of getting his mother back.

Then there were more. Running through the fields, feeling totally free. Figuring out who the Batman was. Her disappointment as he refused to train her, but her joy at Dick telling her to come back the next day. Dick training her and Batman angrily taking over. The joy of being able to actually do a backflip. Batman's first smile at her. The rush of flying through Gotham and the feel of rain on her costume. The feeling of success as she got her first baddie. Dick's hand on her shoulder as Batman walked away. A distant lullaby and strong arms as she cried. Laughing herself to death when she came to school to find her cheating x-boyfriend tied up, crying, and hanging upside-down from a tree with makeup on his face with a note beside him saying "Curtesy of the Older Brothers Committee." Facing down so many bad guys, knowing she could take them. Waking up in the hospital for Batman-Bruce Wane holding her hand and Dick sitting on her other side.

To add to that, more happy memories flooded through their minds. The comfort of being there for his mother. The amazing stories of Batman, and knowing that that was his dad, his father. Getting out of the League of Shadows. Batman smiling at him. Dick picking on him and him dubbing him "Grayson" before being laughed at even more. Dick helping him put away a bad guy. Dick holding him as he cried. Knowing someone cared for him. Refusing to go back to the League of Shadows and feeling greatness and power flood through him. Taking down the Joker and Ra's in the same night with Dick and Batman. Dick protecting him, even when he knew he couldn't-wouldn't make it.

Then, warm memories came flooding in. Enjoying life with his parents. Being at the circus. Holding his mom's hand in comfort. Meeting Batman-THE Batman-and demanding that he take him on as Robin, the boy wonder. The hard work and sweat he put into it. Meeting the first Robin, Dick Grayson. Dick agreeing to let him practice his rope tying on him and ending up having to cut them off Dick when he couldn't untie them. Dick helping him with clasping the cape on the Robin suit and saying he deserved it. When he beat Bruce at chess, and had jumped up from the table, doing a victory dance. His embarrassment when Dick sent him the video of it and claimed he still had the pictures. Beating his first villain. His dad commenting on a picture of him, Dick, and Batman in the news. Batman complementing him on a job well done.

Then, one memory seemed to take them all in.

_A little, black-haired boy was pulling his dad through the crowds. "We have to get a picture!" The kid exclaimed. He could only have been six at the most, but his grip was tough. "Come on!"_

_ "Slow down, kiddo!" An older, kind-faced man laughed as he was being pulled. "I'm sure he'll be there by time we get there." _

_ "Dad! Come on!" The smaller boy continued to complain, a pout on his face._

_ In just a few moments, they were at the front of the crowd, right in front of a group of people. There were two women, two men, and two boys, one around fourteen and the other about eight. The youngest and one of the women, presumably his mother, smiled at them. The mother and the older man started talking, but the two boys were uninterested._

_ "Hi!" Squeaked the younger._

_ "Hi." Smiled the older one. "I'm-"_

_ "Dick Grayson, youngest of the Amazing Flying Graysons." The younger one said, seeming almost as if he were about to explode._

_ Dick blinked and smiled. "Yeah, something like that. What's yours?"_

_ "I-I'm Tim." Tim smiled brightly._

_ "Nice to meet you, Tim." Dick smiled. "Did you like the show?" Just then, his slight accent could be heard, but Tim didn't seem to notice._

_ "Like? I loved it!" The young boy exclaimed before talking so quickly about how amazing it was that Dick couldn't understand him. He blinked._

_ "Oh, so you have a fan, Dickie-bird?" Said a deep voice as one of the men appeared behind Dick. Both Dick and Tim went beet red. He chuckled before putting a hand on his wife's shoulder and looking at Tim's father._

_ "Well, I don't want to waste too much of your time." Tim's dad said. _

_ Dick's mom smiled warmly at him. "Oh, not at all."_

_ Tim's dad blinked. "Well, alright." A thought flashed across his face and he pulled out a camera. "Do you mind?"_

_ Dick's dad blinked. "Oh, of course not. Come here, boys." _

_ Dick grabbed Tim's hand and, to his surprise, hoisted the smaller boy on his shoulders. Tim let a look of shock pass over his face before complete joy crossed it. With the white flash of the camera, the smells of cotton candy and the bright circus disappeared, _replaced with the reality of Slade turning off the screen, removing the presence of their family, their friends, where Dick hung beaten and bloody, and where they four brave souls were all dead.

They would not give up. He would not give up.

FudoTwin17: I hope you liked it.

Cat: Yeah.

FudoTwin17: Well, anyway, I've got to go, but I hope you will review. I want to hear what you think and any ideas, because, although I've got it pretty much planned out, I want to know what my readers want.

Cat: Review.

FudoTwin17: And I will have a shocking ending, although you may not all like it, so . . . . Yeah. Bye, then!


	8. You Are My Hope

FudoTwin17: Yo, guys! Thank you so much for everything you've done for me. I apologize for taking so long to update, but seeing all the happy reviews, I'm made very happy and I thought this was due for an update.

Dog # 1: You've got that right.

FudoTwin17: So, I will give you an update, but I have a lot of stories that I have to work on, so I'll give a requirement for the next chapter. Five suggestions or ideas of where this could go by five different reviewers.

Cat: Okay, that's enough. She doesn't own Teen Titans. Did you really think she did?

Chapter 8

It was dark. The real kind of dark that was created by more than just an absence of light, but a feeling of dread. A feeling of fear. She knew she felt it. The darkness, however, in the real world was interrupted by a video that just kept repeating. Over and over and over again.

Fear. Dread. Pain.

Memories.

That was what she feared most. That those few happy memories with Dick were the last ones she would have. Ever. Dick had always made sure she knew how appreciated she was. If they had a romantic night, he might send flowers. If she had a bad night, he'd send over some gauze or some type of medication to block out pain. Even before he left for Jump, he had left a card. At the time, he couldn't tell her in person.

What really scared her was that she might not ever be there for him. That she would fail him. Again. She hadn't been there for him when he and Bruce got into that last fight over Damian. And because of that, the entire Batfamily had fallen apart. The dynamic duo separated and she was left with a sad, broken, empty heart, wishing she would've been there to pick up the pieces like she always had been before.

As well as that, Bruce was hurt. It wasn't just his pride, but the fact that he had lost another kid, another irreplaceable child to death, to the death-_suicide_-of the dynamic duo. Dick had left just like that. And all that Bruce was left with was a girl he knew was broken and ready to take a final blow, his father figure whom he had failed in the inability to keep one of the Robins alive and with them, and himself, an ominous figure that he would never, ever forgive.

So, fearfully and hurt, she watched the video again and again. She tried to look for something that would give her a clue to where he was being kept, but she couldn't see anything. All she could do was stare tearfully at Robin.

It had been an entire two weeks since then. After Bruce had passed out from watching the video so long even after getting busted up in Gotham, she had taken over the job. But it seemed impossible. Even Bruce-THE FREAKING BATMAN-couldn't find anything!

But there had to be something.

If there was, it wasn't going to be on Robin where her eyes kept going.

She yawned, letting a hand go through her explosive red hair as her eyes searched the screen or, in real life, stared at Robin painfully. He was hurt badly. Extremely badly.

"You really should be getting some sleep, Mistress Barbara." A wise voice said from right behind her.

"I'm fine, Alfie." She murmured, trying not to let her big, brown eyes slip closed like she knew they wanted to. "Besides, I can sleep when I'm dead."

Alfred sighed. "That is what I fear. Go get some shut eye, young mistress. I'm sure you will figure out what it is that you are looking for once turn the lights back on."

Yeah, that sounded nice. Besides, the Titans were asleep. So was Batman. If he was asleep, surely he wouldn't mind that she went to bed, too. When she turned the lights back on, she could be . . . .

Barbara's exhausted eyes widened. "That's it!" As tired as she was, she could only speed up when her hands moved across the keys, typing in her commands. Soon, the tape had been reset to a certain point.

"What do I want?" Slade asked maliciously. "I want to warn you."

It was then the light flashed on. Barbara blinked, setting in the command to do it frame by frame. The light dimly appeared. Nothing. It brightened. Not quite. It was enough to show the outline of Robin easily. THERE!

Right in the background next to Robin's head there was a slight flash, a reflection. It was right there.

There was a window!

She zoomed in on the window, feeling Alfred's presence over her shoulder. Slowly, she brightened the fame until it was almost white, but she could see outside. She never blinked, even if her vision became blurry or dark spots clouded her sight, letting her fingers type faster and faster as it was shaded and slightly adjusted to see what looked like another building and half of a gargoyle.

Familiarity swelled in Barbara until it exploded, giving her the one thing in the entire world that she had wanted right then: An answer.

Her lips stretched into a smile. "I got it!"

"Mistress Barbara!" Alfred exclaimed in shock, just catching her slumped form before she hit the floor. It wouldn't have mattered if she did. She was asleep the moment she closed her eyes.

. . .

Dick opened his eyes tentatively and slowly, letting his eyes adjust to the dim room. He let out a low groan. He was so tired . . . .

_What's going on? _Tim asked, confused.

_Just woke up, dumb-_

_ Damian. _Interrupted Dick in a very straight forward, brotherly voice. The other personality quieted down immediately.

"I see you've woken up." A voice claimed.

Dick's eyes darted to the man standing next to his bed. How he hadn't noticed him before that, Dick didn't know. Whatever happened, though, he just had to keep his cool. He couldn't let the older man get to him. If he did . . . .

_Slade. _Stephanie growled in his mind.

Slade sat at a chair next to his bed. "Not very talkative I see."

In a moment of less control and tiredness, Dick couldn't stop Jason from taking over him. Slade only smiled when he noticed the brilliant blue change to a furious brown. "Who says I'm not talkative? Maybe I just don't want to talk to you."

Slade smiled. "Will you disobey me again?"

Before Tim could take control or whimper out a "no," Dick let his personality, although tired and ready to collapse at any moment, take control. "At every opportunity I get."

Slade's eye darkened angrily. He took a hold on the muscle shirt Dick was wearing and pulled him up. Dick hissed in pain as his skin and his healing broken, cracked, and bruised ribs burst into fireworks in protest. "Are you sure?"

Damian's voice suddenly seemed to explode. _Screw this, you fu-_

"Absolutely." Dick stated, silently chiding Damian for his language.

Slade stared at him for a moment, studying him, then threw down the boy, who once again let out small protests of the pain, somehow keeping all the pain for himself rather than his younger siblings, those that he missed, those that he wasn't there to protect, those that he swore to protect now more than ever.

"We will continue this conversation another time. Tomorrow, you will report to training at two p.m. Don't be late."

Just like that, Robin's captor had disappeared.

_Don't be late. _Stephanie mocked himbefore letting her anger overpower her. _Don't be late! How are you supposed to train like that? How does he expect you_ _fight so injured? _

_ I don't know. _Dick replied carefully. _But I'll get through it._

_ I'm sorry! _Cried Tim, who had been awfully quiet throughout the conversation. _This is all my fault! I'm sorry!_

Dick sighed. _It's okay, Timmy. Come on, it was an awesome idea. We just had some timing issues. That's all._

_ But-_

_ That guy is evil! _Exclaimed Jason angrily. His mortified voice was completely consumed by rage that went long past the skin. _He can't do this! He-he . ._ . .

Dick sighed, making the best he could of the impossible situation. _We'll get through it. After all, we're Robin._

Just like that, it was as if a light had been turned on. Light and comfort filled their minds, slipping past them softly like silk. Perfection filled them to the brink, helping them. They knew that it was going to be okay. .

They had hope anew.

FudoTwin17: Ugh! So short.

Cat: Oh, well. You gave what you wanted and that should be good enough.

FudoTwin17: Is it though?

Dog # 1: You could have done better.

FudoTwin17: That's what I'm talking about. Anyway, I hope you like it and I apologize if you don't think it was worth the wait. I just got out of my school musical Honk! Jr. I just hope it was good and that you don't hate me.

Cat: Just review your love.

FudoTwin17: Or your hate. Just put it in kind words. Please. Bye!


	9. The First and the Last

FudoTwin17: Hello, my fanbabies. I'm not going to do that thing at the top since I'm really tired and not really feeling all that well. I love you and hope you enjoy this. Ugh. I don't own anything that matters. At all. I was going to tell you something else, but I can't remember, so you just read your chappie while I try to remember.

Chapter 9

When Dick opened his eyes, he knew something bad was coming. Of course, he had mostly healed, but hurt, and knew that the training was in what? Four hours? But still, he just had a bad feeling. Premonition. It was never a good feeling for Dick. His bad feeling was usually right, meaning that something horrible was going to, or already happening.

He slowly sat up, flinching as his ribs became inflamed.

_What are you doing! _Shouted Stephanie, successfully alerting his other personalities. _You should be laying down, not getting up!_

_ Grayson, lay back down! _Damian spoke up. Despite his usual persona, this time Dick was sure he could hear the fear and raw worry behind the words.

_Trainings only in a few hours. I've got to- _

At that moment, he stood and everything went wrong. A sudden burning seemed to fill his side, causing him to double over and collapse on the ground, despite his injured ribs and the many cuts and bruises that burned and protested his sudden movement. Despite all he had gone through, he let out a single yell at that moment, unable to hold it in.

_Dick! _He heard Jason yell far away in his mind. However, Dick couldn't focus on the worried voices of his siblings, but on the overwhelming desire to just die. He forced himself to take shallow breaths and block out his other personalities, not letting them feel the pain he felt.

"What is going on in there!" Dick heard a familiar voice yell as none other than Slade rammed the door open, to see Dick biting his lip, collapsed on his side in a protective ball.

_Please! Dick! _Another voice, Tim as Dick had recognized halfheartedly, yelled for it's older brother in fear. But Dick couldn't focus at all. Not even a little.

Oh, it _burned_! Dick could only feel the rough, immense pain in his stomach that seemed to only give him extreme agony and reason to die. But it also gave him reason to keep going. He had to get through it. But it hurt so much! Even more than anything he had ever felt before. More than those lovely torture devices he had been hurt with, the bat that Two-Face had beat him with, the purplish bruises he got from the Joker's favorite crowbar, and even more than every beating that Slade gave him.

It BURNED!

Slade picked up the boy gingerly and sat him back in the bed. Said boy didn't blink, probably not even realizing how he had been picked up. Of course, his eyes were squeezed tight in such extreme pain. Not even pain at the point that it was. _Agony._

"Diane!" Slade called, turning away from the boy in his weak moment as he let out a small, barely noticeable whimper. "Get a cloth, water, and blankets! Bring them to Dick's room!"

"Yes, uncle!" She shouted back, voice echoing dramatically as the sound of her metal feet could be heard as she retrieved the needed items.

Slade turned back to look at the boy before he sighed and pushed his hair back from his sweaty forehead. There should have been no reason for such extreme pain from the beating that Slade had given him. None. And he learned torture from the military base, meaning that after it was done, it was _done._

A frown made it's way to his face as he sighed. This was going to be a long day.

. . .

Slowly, Barbara's eyes opened. Her eyes darted around the room for a moment, taking in the light coloring of the fancy room and the many people in the room before her memory returned and she bolted upright.

"Barbara!" Exclaimed a familiar voice. Bruce stood to her left, eyes betraying a bit of worry, but almost nothing more. His arms were tense as he leaned on the side of the bed, eyes trained on her.

Her eyes were wide, though, as if mad thoughts had overcome her and controlled her. She ignored the other concerned people at the other side of her bed and grasped Bruce's arms. "I know where he is!"

After many shocked and startled replies that were cut off by the widely known batglare, Bruce stared at the girl in front of him who seemed to be almost ready to hyperventilate. "Bruce, I know where he is!"

"Barbara, are you sure?" He asked. His worry seemed to hit him hard. After all, she had fainted at the batcomputer. And she was like a daughter. Just like Dick was like a son.

"Yes." She breathed, and she knew she probably didn't look all that sane. Her hair messy and slightly falling in her eyes, big, brown orbs fixed on Bruce with just enough insanity, pale as death, and breathing as if she had just been hit by a car. She was crazed with the possibility of saving her brother in war and life.

"Then let's save him."

Her eyes lit up with the sentence.

After all, she may have been his daughter in mind, but Dick was his first and last son.

. . .

As the zetabeam lit up, the many heroes in the room looked up, their minds momentarily leaving their young family member, the boy that they all knew was completely amazing. Out of the bright light walked out two smiling green lanterns.

"We did it!" Said one, Hal Jordan, as he walked forward toward the group. "We saved the universe again!" His arrogance and happiness left the room quiet with sadness and realization that they hadn't heard what had happened to Robin.

John looked around, catching the fact that something was desperately wrong. But he knew that Hal didn't. Hal wasn't one who liked to think about the possibility of something going so wrong right after a great victory for all life forms everywhere.

"Everything is alright now!" He repeated, a little strain to his voice, as if he could suddenly make it true just by saying it.

"Hal-" John tried to interrupt, but Hal tried again.

"We won." His bright smile was beginning to corrode away, leaving behind a slight panic to his dark brown eyes. "We-"

"Hal." Interrupted Wonder Woman. This time, Hal shut up, eyes snapping to her. His mask wasn't on, showing off the slight worry and panic that his moment of happiness and just the plain ability to gloat and describe the great, spectacular battle where not even one intergalactic officer died slowly began to fade away.

"What's happened?" Asked John Stewart, eyes moving around the room to only find one of the important heroes missing.

_Batman._

The heroes looked at one another as Diana felt a lump form in her throat. Her nephew was missing. Her nephew was missing. _Her nephew was missing! _

"John, Hal," Spoke Shayera spoke softly, removing her mask so that it was easier for them to take it in. "Something happened while you were gone."

"What?" Hal's mind was too caught up in the lack of celebration to really realize that it was he who spoke.

"Robin was kidnapped." Shayera stated simply, but softly. Before they could sigh in relief of no one being dead, she continued. "By Slade Wilson, Deathstroke the Terminator. He wants Robin to be his apprentice. He's had him for nearly-"

"No." Hal spoke, realization finally setting in and hitting him hard. He had heard that name before. He had heard it-His eyes widened in horror. "No way! Dick did not get kidnapped by that psycho!"

"Yes, he did." Finally spoke Superman, voice unnaturally grave.

"We have to-to get him!" Hal wouldn't deny that he felt a protective panic come over him. With Dick, no matter what the age, one would get extremely worried and overprotective. It was the cost of knowing him. And Hal knew exactly how that felt. Not even Stewart had the lack of protectiveness when it came to the kid.

. . .

_Hal had shook his head in disbelief. He had heard from the majority of the superhero populace that Batman-the _Batman_-had taken a sidekick. A kid. A nine year old kid! He knew the bat had problems, but really? A kid?_

_ So, that's why Hal had begun the long journey to Gotham city. He wanted to see this extraordinary boy in tights that apparently had the whole of the Justice League tied around his pinky. He didn't miss the overprotective stance that Diana took when describing the kid. He didn't miss the clenching of Clark's fists when talked about the irresponsibility of Bats for bringing in the kid to the superhero world. _

_ But things had turned out, well, not nice._

_ For one, when he opened his eyes he flinched. The back of his head hurt as if some clown had knocked him over the head with a ginormous mallet!_

_ Oh, wait. _

_ He hung upside-down with his hands bound behind him and Batman tied right against his back. Both vigilantes hung above a pit of steaming pink acid. Hal could hardly imagine what it must have felt like and done to the bat's sanity dealing with this freaky clown on a regular basis._

_ "So," Began Jordan in an inconspicuous voice. "I don't suppose that you have a plan or an awesome toy to get us out of this mess."_

_ Batman growled. That was answer enough._

_ A deep, yet lighthearted laugh followed. "Batman without a plan? HA! I never thought I'd see the day!"_

_ Batman growled again, his growl deeper this time. He sounded more scary. Hal could respect that. Dealing with mister-I-like-makeup over there must have been something. Too demanding for Hal's taste. _

_ "You know," The Joker began after he whipped away tears of laughter from his eyes, "I was kinda hoping you would bring along the kid. I love him. You know, I've _always _been a kid person!" The Joker started laughing again, clutching his sides._

_ Once again, Batman growled. But this growl was different. This was different than the I-really-hate-you-Jordan-leave-now growl or the I'm-about-to-stuff-kryptonite-down-your-throat growl reserved for Clark. No, this wasn't even the I'm-so-tempted-to-kill-you-right-here-and-now-you-dirty-rotten-scum. No, this was different. This was a protective growl that he had only seen once before in his entire _life_!_

_ This was the growl of a father. And instantly, Hal knew that the kid had Batman under his spell, too. He was starting to get scared to meet the kid._

_ The Joker picked up Batman's belt. Although not being able to see the other vigilante's face, Hal had a suspicious feeling that he had a look of pure murder etched on his face._

_ "You know, Batsie, you think he would come here if you called him on your communicator? Because I think he would!" The Joker exclaimed. "And he might have some fun with us!"_

_ "I won't call him." Stated Batman very simply. _

_ The Joker pouted, red lips looking completely horrifying. "Party pooper. No cake for you." Hal would deny it later, but he was partially sure that he had shivered from that look of malice in the Joker's dark eyes. "I was hoping that you would help me out getting my favorite nephew here, bats, but," The Joker sighed dramatically, "I suppose I'll have to do it myself."_

_ The Joker picked up a device and wrapped it around his throat. When he spoke, it was eerily in Batman's voice. "Well, this certainly is interesting." He laughed and Bruce's voice echoed off the walls. "Hm. So that's what your laugh sounds like." Noted the Joker. "No wonder you don't smile much!" He laughed again._

_ "Do not do this." Commanded Batman sternly._

_ "What?" The Joker asked innocently. He picked up the communicator. "This? Batman to Robin. Come in."_

_ They waited for a moment in absolute silence and horror. "Hey, Bats. What's up?"_

_ "Green Lantern showed up at a warehouse on Central Road. He wants to meet you." Stated the Joker, smirking at Hal who was horrified. Oh, man, he prayed that the kid got through this. Wait, the communicator. It was on . . . . _

_ "Oh, okay! I'll be there in just a minute." The kid chirped over the communicator. Before the Joker could turn off the communicator, Hal crazily started yelling._

_ "HEY! THAT'S NOT BATMAN! IT'S THE JOKER! HE JUST SOUNDS LIKE BATMAN!" Hal shouted, gaining an annoyed look from the Joker._

_ "Wait, who was that?" Asked the kid again. _

_ "Oh, uh, just the Green Lantern. He's excited to meet you." The Joker replied, stumbling in the stolen voice._

_ "I got it! I'll come as fast as I can, Batman! Oh, and make sure that the Green Lantern doesn't die of excitement by time I get there!" The nine year old chirped before the communicator was shut off._

_ While the Joker was sighing in relief, Jordan just heard the whisper of Batman. "We'll be out in about two minutes."_

_ "You have a plan?" Hal asked hopefully._

_ "No." Replied the amazing Batman who was prepared for EVERYTHING!_

_ "How do you know?" The Green Lantern asked, his hope slowly fading. _

_ "I know Robin." Batman replied. It took the Green Lantern a moment (as he had just been calling Robin "the kid" in his mind) to reply and, before he could even respond, the Joker interrupted._

_ "What is wrong with you?" He exclaimed. "I barely ever get to see my beloved nephew and you try to ruin it for me? Why would you do that?" The Joker glared at him, completely serious._

_ "Uh . . . ." Hal honestly had no reply. How could he respond to a murderous clown who was the reason that he was hanging over a vat of acid with an earsplitting headache who was glaring at him for yelling to warn a nine year old of what was coming? Nope. There was absolutely no answer to that._

_ Thankfully, the Joker decided to rant to himself instead of receiving the answer, pacing back and forth as he yelled to himself about Hal. It must have been halfway through that torture that he felt something tighten with the rope. He looked up, even though his pounding head so was not happy about being upside-down, only to see the nine year old._

_ Man, the kid looked more like he was seven! His costume was bright, too, making it hard for Hal to wonder how he could have not seen or heard the kid get over to their rope to-_

_ Oh, crap. _

_ The nine year old was cutting the rope. He could feel the tension in Batman's back. He had seen the brightly colored kid as well. Why didn't he use the batlanguage to tell him to stop? Batman could have been doing it._

_ Jordan took a hard look for a moment. Nope. The kid was entirely focused on cutting the rope. Which meant that he and Batman were about to fall to their deaths!_

_ He must have somehow tensed or something that made Batman realize what he was about to do. "Don't speak. Robin has a plan." Batman whispered._

_ "That includes us falling to our deaths?" He hissed angrily back._

_ The cutting froze for a moment before it began again. He glanced up to see Robin working even harder, tears almost springing to his eyes. Batman tensed against him as he whispered too low for even Robin to hear them. "Never say anything like that again."_

_ With that sentence, Hal knew that Batman was glaring that glare again. He was not going to stand by while his kid was-_

No. _Hal interrupted himself. _His son. Not his kid, his son.

_It was then that they fell right into the pit of acid. It was then that Hal realized that it wasn't acid. He looked at it on his costume for a moment. "Paint?"_

_ As if on cue, Robin flew at the Joker from his point on the ropes and Batman quickly joined him. Joker was too busy laughing and not defending that when Hal went to join them, the Joker was already on the ground with a pair of handcuffs around his wrists._

_ Looking at Batman, Hal could understand why the mad man was laughing. The pink man glared at him, daring Hal to laugh. _

_ Hal decided that, for the greater good of not getting beat up by Batman, to look at the kid. "Hey, sport." He greeted. "Nice to meet you. Robin, right?"_

_ "Yep! And you're Green Lantern-" He cut himself off, looking at the Joker. "So, you're, like, a space cop?"_

_ The way that the kid's eyes lit up at the possibility made Hal get a feeling that he was going to like the kid. And he found that statement to be very true._

. . .

Very true.

"We have to get him back!" Exclaimed John from beside him, bringing Hal back to the land of the living. "Now! Who knows what kind of torture that he's going through! He-"

"We have tried." Interrupted the Martian. "I have not been able to track his mind and at the same time, Batman himself has found-"

He was suddenly cut off when the monitor flashed on with a very . . . grim looking Batman. However, Batman had this different look to his sternness. A very different look. "Zeta to Gotham. Now."

The Flash, ever so curious, looked at Batman cautiously. "Why?"

"We've found Robin. And it's time to bring him home."

And so it began.

. . .

FudoTwin17: Epic? Yes? No? Maybe so? Please talk to me. I'm lonely. And I need feedback, because I won't have ANY electronics in a week. Please. I have to go. Review. Request. Bomb. I don't care so long as you review. BYE!


	10. Break These Bones

FudoTwin17: Hey, guys. It's been a while. I'm sorry about not updating in so long, but I had a few things happen. You guys probably don't want to hear about my problems so I'm just going to say that for now I am confined to my bed, meaning that I'll be updating for a little bit. That's a good thing for you guys. I love you all and I'm sorry for not updating. Love you! I don't own Teen Titans.

Chapter 10

When Dick finally felt a blurry sense of alertness, four voices all started speaking at the same time. He couldn't understand them nor could he remember whose voices they were. All he could feel was the dizzying sense of his own pain that he was still subconsciously keeping from his siblings and the odd numbness in his limbs. Faintly, he let it all come back to him. All of it.

_Dick! _Exclaimed the now recognizable voice of Stephanie, his little sister. _Are you okay?_

_ What happened? _Demanded the youngest, Damian, whose voice had a small, almost unnoticeable feeling of worry and fear.

_Nothing. _Dick stated easily, taking a shallow breath as he felt his ribs ache from the small motion.

_ It didn't look like nothing. _Stated Jason's voice, obviously very unhappy with the situation.

_Really, it was just an old injury that bothers me from time to time. _He stated, trying to play it off easily to his sibling's horror. He didn't want them worrying, even if they were creations of his own mind as it tried desperately to remember them for who they were.

_How often? _Questioned Tim quietly, his voice soft with the known, yet unspoken truth.

Dick didn't reply. There was no satisfactory answer that would calm them. Honestly, the truth might even scare them as it did him. It wasn't pleasant, the pain. But he didn't want to use the pills, not if they would disorient him or blur his senses when it happened.

_Dick, don't you trust us? We've seen it before in your mind and memory, but do you not trust us with the times that we don't know about? _Stephanie asked, voice broken from the pain that made her big brother cry out.

He still didn't reply. He didn't want to.

_Dick- _Jason began, but was interrupted by a voice that wasn't in the boy's head.

"Dick, I know you are awake." The oily voice spoke. A frown etched into Dick's face as he realized that Slade was near him, watching him. He sighed and pried open his eyes to the familiar sight of Slade sitting next to his bed, hands sitting peacefully in his lap.

Dick was careful not to speak, simply listen to the manipulative monster in front of him. As well as that, he took a hold of his own mind, creating a solid wall between himself and the other Robins so they couldn't interrupt or change the subject or even reveal something simple about his or their feelings. Robin had already recognized that the elder man had been trying to figure them out. What made them tick? What made who angry? What made who afraid?

Well, Dick would _not _let this tactician mess with his mind.

"I see you don't want to talk." Slade spoke. His tone was neutral. It neither tried for anger or sadness. All it was was a conversation starter.

But Dick knew that if he let the conversation continue, someone in his mind was bound to get angry or upset, and he wasn't willing to get to that point. Therefore he would let Slade do all the talking. There was no need for him to do any of it.

"Well, then, I will cut to the chase." Slade stated, and Dick's cobalt eyes narrowed dangerously. "I know that your punishment did not cause that extreme attack of pain you felt earlier. I want answers. What happened and why?"

Dick rose an eyebrow tauntingly.

_Don't play around with him, idiot! _Damian exclaimed. _He'll hurt you worse! _Despite the boy's angry words toward the monster, he wouldn't say them to Slade's face. Not if Dick were hurt because of it.

_It's okay. _Dick stated. _Just don't watch. It'll be better. _

_ No! _Jason disagreed. _We won't leave you alone with this guy!_

_ I am alone with this guy. _Dick stated. He knew it was a bit harsh to say to Jason, but he didn't want any of them there to watch his pain or be manipulated by this madman. The more time spent with him, the more time that they were winded up and had their emotions tossed around.

A pang of guilt hit Dick as a small, betrayed and sad feeling slapped him. Though he had no chance to dwell on it as Slade stood, anger rising to his one eye.

"Explain now. Or is more pain necessary?" The sharp glint to his eye made Dick sure that the threat was entirely serious.

_Dick . . . . _

He ignored the worried tone in Stephanie's voice as Slade stood, obviously trying to make Dick feel small and as if he should tell the man why he had been in such pain. But Dick just snorted. "I don't have to explain anything to you."

_Grayson! Stop! _Yelled Damian, fear in his voice.

But Dick didn't stop. He had already gone much too far. Far enough to make Slade put an obvious warning into his voice. "Yes, you do. And do it now."

"No-"

Too far.

With one of his gloved hands, Slade reached down and pressed his hand against one of Dick's unbroken ribs. But with a little pressure, it was no longer unbroken. Dick bit his lip, closing his eyes and letting his eyes as to accept the pain. He wouldn't cry out.

But they did.

_Dick! _Tim cried in horror.

_It's okay. _His voice, strained in even his mind, tried to reassure them. _I'm-_

_ Not okay! _Yelled Stephanie. _Stop it! Stop messing with him! He'll only hurt you worse!_

_ Stephanie. _Dick began, but found he couldn't continue.

_You freaking-_

Dick opened his eyes, working to tune out the voices in his head. He glared at Slade, breathing even more shallowly as his ribs added new fire. "You think one more bad rib is going to-to get me to talk?"

"No." Stated Slade as his eye narrowed cunningly at his forced pupil. "I expect you to sing like a bird."

Dick smirked. "I don't sing. Not for you, anyways."

_This is dangerous, Dick! _Stephanie warned. If she had a body, she would be shaking. Or maybe she would have intervened by then so that this situation wouldn't exist. Either way, it didn't make a difference.

His hand moved down. Another rib. Dick grunted as the fire in his chest began to spread.

_Grayson! _Damian's voice yelled and Dick had to remind himself that of everyone in his mind, Damian was the youngest, whether or not he seemed it. Watching Dick get tortured . . . .

Did it remind him of when Dick and he were tortured when in Scarecrow's grasp? Locking away the thought so no one could realize it crossed his mind, Dick's frown secured it's place. This couldn't go on much longer. He had to find an aggravating way to stop Slade without making it seem as if it were him stopping Slade. Of course, he also had to hide it from his alternate personalities . . . .

"Explain."

And here was his chance.

"You really want to know that badly, Slade?" His eyes darkened at the anger in his _master's _eyes. He was through playing by the manipulator's rules. "I'll tell you then. You stole damaged goods. I come with infrequent spells of pain. I could collapse any moment just because my body isn't perfect." The look in Slade's eye showed shock. It must have been the first time that the man had shown that emotion to Dick ever. "You lost, Slade." He whispered dramatically. "I'm not the apprentice you want me to be."

Slade's eye showed with anger. It was then that Dick realized that he just brought on a world of pain. A smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

_Good._

The anger in Slade's eye was enough to cause Tim to go silent in Dick's mind before he could even think something in horror. Dick took a shallow breath. _Look away._

Even at the authoritative tone in his voice, none of them turned away or left him alone when Slade's full anger unleashed itself upon their older brother.

. . .

Diane kept herself busy in the kitchen, humming. Her robotic hands were sturdy as she cleaned dishes, but if they had been human, they would be shaking. She knew what was going down in the bedroom.

She always knew.

And she also knew that someone had entered the tower some time ago and was just now watching her. They were waiting to knock her out so she couldn't warn Slade. Of course, she had an obligation to inform Slade, but her programing had a key loophole that she knew very well.

It never said when she had to warn her uncle.

Therefore she waited. Of course, she prayed that they really were going to knock her out, because if Slade were in a fight, she had no choice but to fight.

And fight on his side she would. So long as she was awake.

Why wouldn't they knock her out already? She was getting desperate. She could hear the grunts of the boy down the hall. No. He wasn't _the boy_. He was Dick Grayson. Robin. Her friend. Diane took a steadying breath and dropped the now clean knife in her hand back into the sink where she would just have to wash it again later.

Slowly, Diane turned to come face to face with a majority of the Justice League. Superman. Wonder Woman. The Green Lanterns. And in the lead-

_Batman._

Before anyone made a move, Diane spoke. "Knock me out."

Shock registered on all of their faces except her friend's mentor. Most of them looked at each other, eyebrows furrowed and confusion clouding their minds. She was an enemy. She was giving them the chance to take her out of the equation. They needed to do as she said!

She met the stare of the Batman as he inspected her calmly. She let him read her desperation and worry. "Knock me out." She repeated.

He didn't hesitate this time. If she weren't half-machine, she would have missed the batarang as it went flying toward the human half of her face, hitting her square in the temple. She smiled in thanks.

On her way down to the hard floor, she faintly realized that Slade would see this later on as he checked the security cameras and punish her. But she didn't care. Her friend needed her. And there was nothing that could stop her from helping him in his time of need.

She didn't know that Batman had hacked them already so that Slade would never see the tape.

As Diane fell into unconsciousness, she could feel her friend's release from his own personal nightmare.

_He deserved it._

. . .

FudoTwin17: Okay, I feel good about this chapter. Once again, I'm sorry about the slow updating and about the insufficient length. I'm sure that next chapter will be here faster. Thank you all if you are still reading this!


	11. Just a Boy

FudoTwin17: Hey, guys. I'm sorry I've been gone so long! But I do promise that I'm trying to update and I really hope that none of you have given up on this story or Firey Ice since they're so close to being done and since I have sequels as well (depending on if you guys want them). Anyways, there's a poll on my page depending on whether or not you want a sequel for this, Firey Ice, and Past Horrors. Anyways, this is my second try at this chappie (you don't want to read the first, trust me) so I hope that it's satisfactory. Love you guys! I don't own Teen Titans!

Chapter 11

Wonder Woman didn't-couldn't hold in the gasp that clawed at her throat as she walked through the doorway. She had expected a fight. A bloody battle in which the Amazon in her could unleash herself and feel less . . . useless.

She was so _useless_.

But instead, she fell to her knees to the bloody boy that was curled up on the floor in the fetus position. He was very visibly shaking, struggling to breath. If it weren't for that, Diana would have thought he was dead. His clothes in tatters, the brokenness of his body, the bandages, the blood, the bruises, the visible scars-he was the perfect corpse.

She could only stand there as Batman fell to his knees, gathering Dick in his arms and whispering to him, though Diana prayed that the boy couldn't hear him. Dick shouldn't be awake with injuries like that.

Her chest ached. She wanted to hit something, hurt someone. She felt angry.

But Wonder Woman found herself just standing there as Bruce brushed past her, his lost partner now in his hands. He was alive. She knew that that should be everything that mattered, but . . . that man had to pay.

No one was going to get away with doing this to her nephew. Not her boy. Not this wonderful child that she had met years ago. A pained smile lit her lips. It hurt to think of it, even in it's happiness. Because now wasn't happy.

Happiness.

She paused. Was such a thing even achievable? For people like them? Her? Dick?

Memories overcame her as she struggled against tears, staring at the place where Dick's blood had pooled on the floor and the open window across the room as a cold wind swept through the room. She shivered.

. . .

_Wonder Woman pursed her lips. She had just gotten the news that Batman, the dark knight, had taken up a sidekick. Not only a sidekick, but one that was barely nine. Was he crazy? Hera! She thought that he would have more sense! _

_ But of course not! _

_ She gritted her teeth, sighing and picking up her pace. She had come to Gotham not as Wonder Woman, but as herself, Diana. She strutted forward on her high heels and ignored the way that the black night sky seemed to grow steadily blacker. She sighed, picking up her pace._

_ She wasn't familiar with Gotham as Batman did not like other heroes in his city. She had always accepted that and was willing to ignore the fact that he roamed freely while other superheroes had restricted roaming areas. After all, it was his city. _

_ But he had crossed the line. _

_ He was NOT putting a NINE YEAR OLD CHILD-_

_ Suddenly, she felt herself get pulled backward. The dull blade of a knife pressed against her neck and she saw another man with a nasty grin in front of her. Quickly, she surveyed her situation. She was a civilian. There were two large men, one with a weapon, here to do her harm. _

_ "Hey, sweet-cheeks!" Grinned the one in front of her as she was led into an alley. "Wanna join me and my friend for a party?"_

_ "No!" She exclaimed, trying to buy time so she could figure out the best way to preserve her __secret ID while escaping the situation. "I-I don't-"_

_ "Hush now, sweetie." The one in front of her murmured, brushing her cheek gently while he showed off his yellow, rotten teeth. "Don't worry. We'll have lots of fun." It was then that his hands went to the buttons at her collar. _

_ However, the man didn't make it to the second button before he was roughly kicked backward. If Diana hadn't been Wonder Woman, she might have missed the small, colorful blur that had attacked him. She never once got a good look at him in the next five seconds as he was too busy dealing with the man in front of her. She faintly heard a small, but somewhat creepy laugh echo through the alleyway. _

_ As soon as he was done and the man was tied up and on the ground, the boy turned around and smiled, but not at her. At the man that she had somehow forgotten about while watching the blur. The second assailant was shaking, which she could especially feel in his knife. _

_ Sizing him up, Diana could barely believe that the boy was nine. To tell the truth, he looked more like he was six or seven. Not only that, but he was dressed like a traffic-light! Who would let a crime fighter in Gotham run around in clothes that everyone could see him in?_

_ "I would suggest running away screaming now." The little boy informed the man behind her. "You know, unless you want to become like him." The little boy gestured to the other guy, who took that moment to groan painfully. "Oh, and please, leave the knife."_

_ He took the chance. The knife was thrown to the ground quickly and the man was gone, almost throwing Diana off balance. She looked at the little boy for a moment before he grinned and held out his hand. _

_ "Hi, Ms. Prince!" _

_ Diana blinked. "What-"_

_ He rolled his eyes behind the blasted mask. "I'm Batman's partner. Of course I know your name. So what brings you to Gotham?" Suddenly, the grin was replaced by a darker look. "Please tell me it's not to convince Bats that I shouldn't be out on the streets."_

_ To tell the truth, that was exactly what she came for. However, the look on his face paired with what she had just seen . . . . _

_ "Nope." Diana replied, making a shocked look pass over his face before a grin. "I just wanted to meet you!"_

. . .

Diana could never push away the look of happiness in his eyes. Now, though, she desperately pulled it toward her only for it to just elude her.

Why did it always have to be Dick?

She slammed her fist into the frame of the door, just catching herself as not to completely destroy the wooden frame in the giant clock tower. She felt Clark's hand as it placed itself on her shoulder and found that it brought no comfort. Her anger, pain, sadness, feelings-there was barely a dent in it and that was entirely from saving her nephew.

Now, she needed to have justice.

"He's gone." She whispered hoarsely.

"No, we've found Dick. He's going to be okay." Clark's voice soothed. She gritted her teeth. He didn't understand. He just-ugh! Why didn't he understand?

"Deathstroke the Terminator. Slade. Slade Wilson." She whispered. "He's gone."

Superman could provide no comfort to her. She turned on her heel, dragging herself away. Her hand went to her communicator. "Titans. League."

After many assurances that everyone was surrounding the premises during which Diana gritted her teeth, she spoke again. "Slade has escaped, but we have Robin and one of his minions."

After much static and talking on the other side, Diana sighed. She didn't want to hear anything else. She was tired, physically and mentally exhausted. She pinched the bridge of her nose and slowly exhaled before speaking. "I'm going to see Dick. Wonder Woman out."

With that, she opened a window, ignoring it's loud screeching and jumped into the chilly night air.

. . .

When the Titans saw him, their breaths caught. After they had seen Batman's car rushing from the scene, the Flash, Black Canary, and Hawkgirl had agreed to take over their areas to see their leader. The Titans had probably broke every speeding law and air trafficking law imaginable in the process to get to Wayne Manor, but it still wasn't quick enough for them.

And standing beside Dick's bed nearly thirty minutes later made them almost break down. Bandages covered him along with a fair coating of blood, dirt, and bruising underneath all the bandages that disguised his injured and battered body.

They just stood there, realizing faintly that the healing process had only just begun.

The beeping of the heart monitor burned itself into each Titan's memory as the night faded into nothingness.

. . .

FudoTwin17: Okay, kinda sucky. I admit it. To tell the truth, I planned an epic fight scene, but it turned out not so epic, so you got this instead. So, next chapter is gonna be better. Please request and review and stuff! I love you! Byes!


	12. Bleeding Hands Around My Neck

FudoTwin17: Ugh. Bad day. But I'm gonna suck it up and write 'cause you deserve it. Luv u guys. Hope you like it. I don't own Teen Titans. And be warned, my writing usually portrays my feelings, so be warned. It may be extremely dark.

Chapter 12

When Dr. Leslie Thompkins was woken in the middle of the night-no, actually, two in the morning, she was not happy. She was irritated and somewhat hostile from lack of sleep, but she tried to rub the tiredness out of her eyes and picked up her phone. She hoped her voice came out neutral when her voice could be heard. "Doctor Thompkins."

"Leslie," A very familiar voice exclaimed, sounding very distraught, "it's Dick."

Immediately, she was out of bed, hurriedly digging through drawers for clothes and other essentials. Her lips moved at the speed of light, not letting her emotions come into play. She couldn't let her emotions take hold in her job otherwise she would lose a patient and be ruined by it, possibly for the rest of her life. "What's the damage?"

"Alfred isn't sure. It's too extensive to just poke around." Her breath caught for just a moment before she freed it, listening to the voice on the other end of the phone. "Leslie, we might just lose him this time."

At those words, her heart was dragged back in. Darn it, Bruce! She just couldn't escape her own pained emotions as she tried desperately to get a reign on them. She was a doctor. As a doctor, she had to be able to keep her mind clear of all emotion so that she could do her best. She gritted her teeth.

"Leslie?" His voice was hard, yet still soft when it came back over the intercom, obviously expecting her to say something after her silence.

"I'm on my way." Those were the only words she could find to say. Quickly, she hung up and tossed the phone away, rushing to get dressed.

She was too emotionally involved.

Everyone was.

. . .

The Titans were all quiet. At the moment, they were the only ones sitting around his bed in the dark room. The curtains were drawn, making the room seem eerily dark. The lamp next to his large mahogany bed, barely lighting the room. The room's walls were painted a dark crimson, like blood. The team couldn't take in anything else as their eyes were trained to the figure on the bed.

His face was as white as the sheets underneath the large, dark red blankets and nearly the color of the small, necessary bandages on his face. The blankets had been pulled around him when he had first arrived, shivering and chilled. Pillows had been added to cushion his head as well. The boy had been barely touched, obviously awaiting the touch of one experienced enough to treat him.

His teammates gazed at him almost as if they were in a trace. Each were in their own worlds, horrified and quietly relived, though that was slowly disappearing as they took in his disturbing state.

Finally, after the silence seemed like it was too much, Cyborg's voice lowly rang out. "This should have never happened."

Raven, shaken though obviously trying to control it, closed her eyes, fists clenched tightly. She worked to pull herself under control as not to break anything. "No, it shouldn't have."

Beast Boy somehow found himself collapsing at the side of the bed, hands resting next to his leader's head. He wanted to touch him _so much _but at the same time he couldn't risk hurting him more. His shoulders shook with silent sobs. He couldn't loose another family. He just couldn't do it! He didn't want to loose one more person! He just-He just couldn't handle it!

Starfire's teary emerald eyes were pained as they locked on him, fighting the raging emotions within herself. "F-Friends, we cannot . . . . We can't focus on the past." Her voice came out a whisper as she tried to force her mind into a happier state. "We-We-I . . . . He's back. We have him back now."

Raven's heart felt pained, but at the soft-spoken words, her dark eyes drifted up to the other alien girl. She chose to believe that she couldn't feel emotion and she would deny it if anyone brought it up, but she felt a small glimmer of . . . hope?

It made the moment just a little bit more bearable. Not much, but something was better than nothing.

However, Beast Boy's shoulders only shook harder and Cyborg tensed to the point where one would think that he couldn't be breathing anymore.

Cyborg swallowed, eye harsh and pained. There was worry there that no one could quite recognize. It was the worry of a friend and more. A brother? Family? That of a student? No one really could place it, but it burned them almost as if it were a real flame licking at their limbs. "This shouldn't have happened." He repeated, voice slowly growing from apathy to a dangerously emotional exclamation. "This shouldn't have happened. I shouldn't have let this happen! It's all my fault. I shouldn't have left him. I should have taken out the probes before we left so that he wouldn't have had to go. I shouldn't have let this happen!"

Starfire stared at him, voice trembling slightly. "Cyborg, you coul-could not have-"

"Darn it!" He yelled, not caring that anyone on that floor and probably every person in the house could probably hear him. "_I _played leader! _I_ called the shots! _I _should have helped him! _I should have saved him!_"

After that, his shoulders slumped in defeat, metal hands shaking after all his suppressed emotions finally released themselves. He looked so completely defeated and _lost_ that it was hard to see him as the fun-loving prankster, best friend to Beast Boy, and somewhat calm, clearheaded teen they knew.

He was broken.

They all were.

"You did your best, Cyborg." Raven murmured, her voice struggling to remain detached at such a crucial moment. "We all did." She paused, swallowing almost nervously. "We can't-We can't blame ourselves. We're only going to drive ourselves crazy. We need to focus on the future. Cy-Victor, you did a good job as a leader. You lead us as well as possible in the situation. We all did our best and-and now he's here." Her eyes sparkled with suppressed pain as she looked down at him. "We're all back together. We can be Titans again." The last whispered sentence, though, she knew was wrong.

It was a lie. How could they be the Teen Titans again? They couldn't pretend this never happened or sweep it under the rug and continue with their lives from before the incident. They may have been a team, but that didn't mean they couldn't break up-separate.

_What if it was never the same again?_

Raven's breath hitched and she could just feel her magic struggling to break free from her and shatter the dim lamp at his side or break the door down and listen to the rough sound of it hitting the floor.

Thankfully, or maybe unfortunately, her small drop in composure was covered up by the loud sobs that suddenly ripped through Beast Boy. He buried his face in his arms, still on his knees at Robin-Dick's side.

The entire team watched in petrified sadness as he tried to control himself and slowly turned his head to the side so that his big, sad eyes, puffy and abnormally colored, could see them all. His voice was quiet and scratchy when he finally spoke. "I just-We can't loose . . . . I can't loose another family."

At that quiet admission, each of their hearts broke and pain filled them. No one knew how to respond. After all, how would one respond? This was why they needed him! The leader! The brother! The guardian! He always knew what to say.

Even when it was wrong, he helped them.

Why couldn't he just-

Raven gasped as her eyes locked on Robin. She didn't need to say anything. Each of the other Titans gathered around his bed at the sound of a quiet gasp and the eyes slowly beginning to open.

They shouldn't have gotten so close.

. . .

_Fuzzy. Everything was so fuzzy. Robin couldn't put his finger on it, but he didn't feel right. He was in pain and his head _hurt_! He wanted Batman and Nightwing. Or even Batgirl. Any friendly face would've been welcome. _

_ Robin rubbed his forehead, sweat making his black gloves slide uncomfortably across his skin. His eyesight was blurry, too, though he could still read street signs (or at least he could ten minutes before) and make out shapes like his red-clad legs. However, he realized that he could no longer judge distances (something he wished he had realized before he had found out before he had used his grappling gun). _

_ He sighed, leaning against the side of the building, out of breath. His head was light, his eyesight fuzzy, __his hearing was wrong, __his chest burned, his wrists ached, his legs felt weird, and the feel of the wind against his own blood marring his costume made him shiver violently despite how much it seemed to hurt. He gritted his teeth against it, though._

_ He knew that he had to keep going or at least get to a safe stopping point. That's what Dick and Jason would do! Though he could feel faint hums in the back of his mind, he could feel nothing else. He forced himself to keep pushing, though, telling himself that he could make it._

_ Every word was a lie._

_ He sighed, an aching hand tightening over the broken, bloodstained communicator in his hand. He didn't know why he didn't let it go, but it kept him going. He couldn't call for help, but he was determined to get __where he needed to go._

Please, _he begged silently, _please let someone be out there! I can't do this much longer!_ His tired mind seemed to beg, pride lost and replaced with pitiful whispers of longing, want, and desperation. The boy couldn't seem to force to the voices in his head to be quiet, but he tried to resist them, overlaying them with something comforting._

_ Thankfully, it was then that he saw the dark figure in front of him. The man-it was obviously a man-was dressed in black and seemed to embody the shadows all around him. As he moved, it almost looked like the shadows clung to him like a cape and there were two points atop his head that made Robin think of a partially made crown._

_ His foggy mind caught on quickly. _

_ Batman was here!_

_ "Ba-Batman!" He exclaimed, relief in his wavering voice as he pushed off the wall and stumbled toward the man, desperate for help. "Bats!"_

_ "Robin." The cold acknowledgement should have immediately alarmed the boy, but over the ringing in his ears, he appeared to not notice the abnormality of the greeting. He wasn't put off at all from approaching his mentor on shaky legs. _

_ "Bats, we've got a problem." He spoke shakily, his voice wavering from pain that he refused to give in to. The older man did not respond so he continued. "It's the Riddler. He's out of Arkham early. I didn't expect him or his goons. They caught me by surprise, but I overheard what they were planning."_

_ Batman just looked at him, staring coldly. _

_ Though Robin couldn't see clearly and couldn't be sure of that fact, every hair on the back of his neck went up. He considered snapping his fingers in front of the man's face, but decided that that might not be a good idea. "Batman. Are you alright-"_

_ His hand that had slowly risen toward his mentor was suddenly grasped roughly at the wrist, quickly being yanked to the side just wrong so that a loud snapping noise met Robin's wrist. Out of shock and pain, he let out a small cry. Before he knew it, he was on the ground, Batman above him. _

_ "Batman," He gasped, "what are you doing?"_

_ His mentor grinned then, a look of pure evil and insanity upon his lips. He leaned forward, placing two gloved hands on his throat. Robin's heart pounded as pressure was slowly applied, cutting off his wind pipe. He gasped, eyes screwed shut against the sight of the grin that didn't belong on Batman's face. Ever. _

_ "Bat-Bats . . . ." He choked, struggling for air as a short, sharp laugh cut through the smoggy, dark air of the huge city. Shaking, he forced himself to remember Bruce's-not the Batman's-Bruce's smile and his deep, hearty chuckle. It didn't sound like this joyful, yearning laugh that sang of pain and future misery for all those who heard it. _

_ Taking his last breath of air, he just managed to choke out. "You . . . aren't . . . Ba . . . t . . . man . . . ."_

_ The man's laugh was the last thing he heard, though his breath and his finger's around Robin's throat were the last things he felt before blissful darkness took him away._

_. . ._

"He's waking up!" Beast Boy exclaimed, leaning forward from his place standing over their sleeping leader. His happiness and desperation seemed to keep him from noticing the tremor in the elder boy's hands. He was too happy, too glad for his family to be coming back together to see something quite so horrifying and scary yet.

"Robin? Can you hear me?" Starfire spoke hesitantly from his other side, obviously hoping for a reaction.

"Dick?" Raven chimed in, trying to get his eyes to open as well.

Cyborg's hand went to reach for his leg, though he quickly pulled back as if afraid to hurt their leader and friend any worse. After all, they were still waiting on the doctor, weren't they? They didn't want him in worse condition when she appeared.

His eyes fluttered, making everyone immediately hold their breaths.

"Dick?" Questioned Beast Boy quietly, large green eyes locked on the other's that were slowly opening. When tired, confused gray eyes met his, he grinned happily. "You're-"

Immediately, his smile was wiped off of his face. The older boy's eyes had gained emotion. It was obvious terror. His strong hands wrapped around the changeling's neck, squeezing desperately and enough so that the boy couldn't escape. Beast Boy's hands went to his neck, but he couldn't get himself to fight back when he felt fresh blood stain his green skin.

"Beast Boy!" Exclaimed Starfire in horror as Cyborg rushed to pull away their leader's hands. Shaken, the both of them fell away, collapsing to the floor nearby. The girls immediately rushed to their side, worried. After they found no marks on Beast Boys skin (only blood that didn't belong to him), they all stared at Dick as his eyes flickered between different colors in a shocking manner.

Raven could just remember Batman's haunted voice echoing through her mind. _During the first moments of no longer wearing the mask, you don't know who you are. All their personalities would have been pushed inside one body. He wouldn't know who he was, his thoughts would be clouded and confusing. He wouldn't know who he really was. It could cause nausea, dizziness, and memory problems. He may remember things he never saw or did. _Her hands clenched, forming fists as she tried desperately to reign in her emotions for just a few more minutes-

The door slammed open as a metal table with straps on the sides was rolled into the room by Alfred, Bruce, Wonder Woman, and another woman with sharp, focused eyes wearing a doctor's coat. They all gathered around the bed, pushing the Titans back, and the unnamed woman obviously pushed a needed beneath skin, praying for a quick unconsciousness. Swiftly, he was uncovered and strapped down to the table, revealing gruesome injuries that made Starfire's breath hitch. He was rolled out faster than the Flash could run.

However, just before Bruce left, his eyes strayed back to them. Mutual understanding crossed between them. They all cared about Dick. They wouldn't lose him. Bruce nodded before exiting, his heavy footfalls echoing down the long hallway outside.

The group, already gathered together, slowly drew even more close. They clung to each other, even Raven holding on to them as they all slowly began to break.

One of Beast Boy's hands traveled to his neck, silent tears running down his face as blood slid between his fingertips. Blood. It wasn't just Robin's blood. It was the blood of their family as it was slowly torn apart.

Starfire sobbed, unable to hold it back anymore. She couldn't take it. And she wasn't the only one.

Raven slowly felt herself crumble in the hard hold on her, holding her together yet tearing her apart. A single tear slid down her chalky face as she slowly began to shake. The lamp behind them finally exploded, the shards hitting Cyborg's back.

He didn't let any of them go from his protective hug. He couldn't protect their leader, their friend, from that monster, but he could protect them from a few simple shards of the broken lamp. He wished sadly to himself that he could just make everything better.

But he couldn't. Not for any of them.

Not for his friends.

Not for Dick.

And especially not for himself.

. . .

FudoTwin17: I hope that's satisfactory. Sorry it took so long. Goodness, I'm lame. But anyways, I hope it's okay because it doesn't feel that good to me. Bye, guys. R&R, please.


	13. Miracle of Miracles

FudoTwin17: Yo, guys!

Cat: Now she's gonna tell you about how sorry she is for having left you people hanging for so long and warn you about the chapter.

FudoTwin17: Uh, yeah. I'm sorry I don't update enough. But it is summer, so I now have more time on my hands (sorta, not really). And be warned. I dunno what I'm gonna write, but it may be dark (just like the rest of this fic). As well as that, I'm not a doctor, so . . . yeah. That should be warning enough.

Goldfish # 4: Pfft! Ha!

FudoTwin17: I don't see what's so funny.

Goldfish # 4: ***laughing* **Just the idea of you as a doctor! Ha!

FudoTwin17: Thanks. A lot.

Cat: She doesn't own TT. Or anything else of importance. Now onto the chapter!

Chapter 13

" . . . his injuries?" A voice hissed in the back of Dick's mind. Though it was true that the boy had gotten used to the internal personalities of his siblings being in his mind, Dick knew this was different. It wasn't any of their voices, and it didn't feel like it was in his mind. It felt like it was coming from . . . beside him?

". . . Bruce." Another voice stated. It was feminine in nature and familiar, but Dick wanted to push it away. He was tired. All he wanted was sleep. "I did . . . best, but he's still got a . . . to go. His left wrist was broken. His . . . wrist was sprained. He had a mild concussion . . . gone now. His left elbow was broken and his radius . . . a minor fracture. His left baby finger and ring finger were both dislocated. His right shoulder had . . . spiral fracture and had . . . dislocated. He . . . four broken ribs, two cracked, and . . . bruised. His right femur was cracked. His . . . patella dislocated. Both his ankles were . . . and his costume had been . . . to his skin! We had to . . . Superman to . . . remove it. There were burn marks . . . suggested electrical punishment. He had severe . . . cuts and bruises. He lost . . . . We gave him four pints . . . blood. It . . . he's still alive!"

_That's sick. _Whispered a horrified voice in his head. Faintly, he realized it was Stephanie. She sounded disturbed and like if she had a body, she'd throw up. She seemed to shaken to continue.

Dick realized that all the other personalities agreed with her. They seemed completely disgusted, and he noticed that not one of them spoke up to give their agreement. Though he knew that he should wholeheartedly agree with them, he felt almost apathetic, detached in a way. It didn't feel real.

"And that's not all." The female voice added, louder and seemingly . . . shaken? Dick could feel it as the rest of the Robin's curiosity filled him. "Were there any missions where Dick wasn't treated . . . me?"

"Yes." Stated the first voice . . . Bruce! Bruce stated. "In a mission with the Doom Patrol."

Dick could practically feel confusion and fear rolling off of his other personalities. He wanted to reassure them that he was fine, but he still felt disconnected. He didn't seem to have a voice, even in his old mind.

". . . what happened?" She asked, her voice fading out during the beginning.

"He was shot. The technology in the other country wasn't that good, but the doctors saved him. He still has infrequent bursts of pain sometimes and has medication for it." Bruce replied, sounding less than, well, Batman should.

_What does that have to do with anything? _Jason questioned in his mind, sounding a bit worried.

_If you'd be quiet, we'd find out. _Snarled Damian. No one commented on his snappish comment as they could all sense his growing worry that they all knew he would deny if anyone commented on it.

"As I thought." They heard her murmur more to herself than Batman. She cleared her throat, voice becoming cold and professional once again. "While we were x-raying, we noticed a mass that was radiating energy from a region just right of his navel cavity. Superman identified it as kryptonite. We managed to get a small piece of it during surgery, but we had to close him up before removal." They could hear rustling as she handed over what they undoubtedly knew was the fractured kryptonite piece.

"This isn't green." Bruce stated quietly, his voice dropping for a moment before they could hear his tone again. ". . . seen kryptonite poisoning before. It causes insanity, and it's poisonous. It kills a human within a month. Dick's had it for nearly a year and a half."

_Kryptonite poisoning! _Tim exclaimed, sounding positively terrified. The worry radiating off of his imagined siblings made Dick's stomach feel like a snake was coiling inside of it. However, he knew that this was imagined as he couldn't really feel anything, just darkness.

"Superman identified it as such. It appears to be altered chemically somehow. I don't know how, but that's not important right now." Her voice, though cold, sounded urgent. It was obvious she was worried. "The fragment is small, but it gives off . . . pulses. Those pulses along with jostling are causing Dick's spells of pain."

Though Dick still felt disconnected from the world, he couldn't help an odd feeling of . . . relief filling him. He could understand it as he'd spent so long questioning why it always hurt so much. Now he knew. Somehow, though, Dick knew that knowing there was a hunk of kryptonite inside his body, hurting him every time he twisted wrong or it sent out pulses, should not give him any form of relief. It just . . . . He wasn't sure. But he was glad that he finally understood something that his doctors never could explain before.

"Why wasn't it removed during the initial surgeries?" Questioned his guardian, sounding gruff. However, Dick as well as his personalities knew that the man was confused. To tell the truth, so were they. It was a good question.

When the doctor answered, her voice was dark. "That surgery will be very risky." She began, seemingly holding herself back. "The tissue surrounding the kryptonite has begun healing around the foreign mass. As well as that, his organs have become attuned to it, working with it like they would his heart or lungs. And this is not to mention that there would be severe bleeding from the surrounding tissue. This is a surgery that would be dangerous even if he were in full health! He could die from that kind of surgery." Her voice said informatively, shaking a bit at the end.

_That sounds awful. _Stephanie whispered quietly in Dick's mind. At her quiet, fearful exclamation, Dick could feel himself fall from his former apathy. He was suddenly very aware and very shaken.

_There's a hunk of kryptonite inside of me. _He could hear his voice whisper in his mind, sounding shocked and very out of it. He could feel it as the other personality's feelings of worry and fear spiked. However, before any of them could comment, Bruce spoke, sounding quiet.

"What if it was left there?"

It seemed like every personality fell silent at the very idea. It sounded horrible.

_What is he? Mad? _Exclaimed Jason, finally. None of the others answered him, though. They didn't know the answer to his question either.

When the doctor-Doctor Leslie!-spoke again, she sounded caught off guard. "W-Well, he'd still have the pain attacks." She began, quickly pulling herself together. After all, composure was important for those of her profession. "I can't be sure as I've never seen a case like this before, but-" She caught herself, speaking once again. "I believe that with the way it's affecting his organ systems, it'll cut his life time short by fifteen to twenty years short."

_What?_ Gasped Tim in his mind. He sounded horrified at the thought, and no one blamed him. They all stayed quiet, knowing that they would provide themselves with no comfort after such news. None of them wanted to believe it.

"What do you want me to do?" She questioned shortly. "You are, after all, his legal guardian."

There was a pause before the man spoke hesitantly, not sounding like either Bruce Wayne or Batman. He sounded old, painfully so. "I'll have to talk with Dick about it when he wakes . . . ."

After his voice faded, they could faintly hear Doctor Leslie's assent and the sound of a door slamming. Dick couldn't feel it as Bruce sat down at his side, but he could hear him. The thought alone let him fall into comforting darkness, letting it take him away from the nightmare that was his life.

. . .

In Mount Justice, the League's first hideout before the world found out about it, Diane found herself being placed. The League wanted to interrogate her before shipping her off. She sighed, understanding. After all, they didn't know about her problem.

She glanced around, eyes landing on the steel walls of the interrogation room. It's walls were all almost sold steel. There was no vent (obviously for safety reasons), making the room ridiculously hot. There was a one way glass across from her as well as a door, the only exit. She sat in a dull, wood chair, hands cuffed to the hot metal table in front of her.

She sighed yet again. This must have been her twentieth inspection of the room. They had left her in there for three hours, twelve minutes, and forty-nine seconds. Alone. She was tired and wished that they would get on with the interrogation before she fell asleep.

Knowing what Slade was going to do to her once he repossessed her was the only reason she hadn't gone to sleep in the first thirty minutes. She didn't want to think about it.

Slowly, she felt her eyes droop.

The click of the lock on the door made her jump back to alertness, thankful she hadn't fallen asleep. It would be uncomfortable if a Justice League member had had to wake her up to interrogate her. However, when the door swung open, it was not a Leaguer that stood before her.

"M-Master." She stuttered, eyes wide.

He stared at her, his cold, gray eye the same color as the walls. "Free yourself and follow me." He ordered, turning away. "We are leaving."

Automatically, her mechanical body obeyed, the cuffs around her wrists snapping away. She left them crumpled on the table, following her uncle obediently.

Just like that, they were gone.

. . .

When the Flash opened his eyes, he winced at the bright lighting. _Goodness._ He thought, rubbing at his eyes. _Lights! Too bright!_ Then, as he realized that those lights belonged in Mount Justice, everything came back. His and Kid Flash's argument, the metal balls, the gas-_Oh, no. Wally!_

He darted to his feet, scanning for Kid Flash. As soon as he found him, he was at his side, shaking the boy to awareness, slight fear choking him. Then Wally groaned, and relief gripped him. "Five more minutes, Aunt I." He muttered.

Flash suppressed a laugh. "It's not your aunt you're talking to, Kid."

Immediately, his blue eyes flashed open, and he sat up, on his feet faster than lightning. "What-Who-"

Flash frowned grimly at him as Kid Flash's eyes widened. He looked at his uncle, obviously thinking about what had just come to the Flash's mind. "The prisoner."

In a flash, both speedsters had zoomed to interrogation room A, stopping at the glass when they realized that their prisoner was gone with the wind. They looked at each other for a moment before Wally spoke. "You'd better call the League."

The Flash gave him a look.

"What?" The boy asked. "I'm not crazy. I don't want to be the one to tell all those crazies that we lost one of the goons helping Slade hold Robin captive."

The Flash sighed before raising a hand to his ear. "Come in, Watchtower. This is the Flash."

"Atom here. What's going on?" Spoke the man over the line.

The Flash sighed, sparing a glance at his nephew before continuing. "We've got a problem."

Indeed, they did have a problem.

A very big one.

. . .

FudoTwin17: Okay, I'm done. I hope you liked the new installment and that it cleared up a few questions. Feel free to ask more. I intend to answer as many as possible.

Cat: Which reminds me. Their eyes?

FudoTwin17: Oh, yeah. Okay. First, you need to know that when I began this fic, the only thing I knew about the DC universe were these things: what the movies said, Teen Titans, and the fact that my dad said that Batman fired Robin. These are the facts that I based this entire fic on.

Goldfish # 4: Sad, right?

FudoTwin17: Anyways, after I found out more about characters, story ideas built themselves up in my head. Jason, Tim, Stephanie, and Damian were so cool that I had to invite them into my story (though I still don't know as much as I'd like about them). I had heard so much about their different looks and the different worlds, that I didn't know what they looked like. Dick's eyes were brown or blue, Jay's were green or brown, Tim's were gray or blue or brown, Stephanie's were blue or green, and Damian's were blue. Thus, I went with different eye colors so that you would know them. Unfortunately, I didn't make myself clear enough. So, this is my apology for that.

Cat: In this fic, Dick's eyes are blue, Jason's are brown, Tim's are gray, Stephanie's are green, and Damian's are blue.

FudoTwin17: Yup! Anyways, I still don't know as much as I'd like about the DC universe, so if you think there's something important I should know, please tell me. Especially about the sidekicks. Thank you!

Cat: Okay. Bye!


	14. Take It or Leave It

FudoTwin17: Yo, dudes. :) I'm back!

Cat: Earlier than usual, but still a very ridiculous amount of time.

FudoTwin17: Yup. Anyways, sorry about the wait, but I'm back now and I'm ready to update! Yay! Not to mention how close this story is to finishing. :D It makes me happy. I really love writing this story. To tell the truth, it's twisted-ness is exactly why it's one of my favorites.

Goldfish # 4: Freak.

Cat: I wholeheartedly agree.

FudoTwin17: Whatever. Anyways, I don't own Teen Titans or DC. On to the story! :D

Chapter 14

Barbara couldn't help it as she paced, ignoring the gazes of the quiet Titans. Her heart was pounding in her ears, and she was desperate to push open the doors to the private room and see with her own two eyes that Dick was back.

Unfortunately, she had been knocked out during the rescue mission as well as when they brought him back, therefore meaning that she had been one of the only ones left that hadn't seen him. A part of her, though, was afraid to see him.

Really, that fear was within her all along, but she only noticed it when the Titans had joined her outside of the operating room. It had been the look in their eyes, that of raw, undying fear and anxiety that had made her hands tremble. Then she had noticed Beast Boy.

The small, green boy had looked completely horrified and as if his world had just crashed down. His eyes were puffy and red from crying and there were streaks running down his face. That fear in his eyes had been increased tenfold from that of his teammates, and his hands kept going to his neck where there were two messy hand prints in blood as if someone-as if someone . . . .

Raven had suddenly stared at her then before her eyes moved to the shaken changeling. Slowly, she moved forward and whispered in his ear. Then they were gone, back only when the bloodstain at his neck were gone.

In a way, Barbara was both thankful and felt . . . wrong. As a bat, no one was supposed to see through her. They weren't supposed to know what was bothering her. The fact that the girl was an empath made the knowledge that she had seen through her facade a bit more bearable, but she still felt that same sense of wrongness.

Barbara shook her head, red hair spilling around her messily as she pulled herself back to reality, staring at the door.

Bruce was in there with Dick whom, they had been informed, had a hunk of Kryptonite inside of him among his other extreme injuries. At the knowledge, Barbara felt bile rise in the back of her throat. She couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if Conner had been around more after Tim's funeral. Maybe he would have caught on, and they could have found out earlier . . . .

Babs shook herself again, eyes darting up to the door as a murmur of voices sounded. Immediately, her heartbeat picked up. Was he awake after all this time? Her hands trembled as she froze in her pacing, staring at the door. She waited for it to open and Bruce to invite them in, but after a minute, she realized it wasn't going to happen.

Her eyes turned to Cyborg hesitantly before she snapped into focus. "Can your tech pick up what's going on in there?"

He paused, his one human eye widening shortly before he nodded. However, before he activated the tech, he spoke. "Why do you want it?"

"Something is going on in there, and I want to-_need _to know what." She stated, desperation creeping into her voice before she bit it back. "We need to know."

He paused before his eyes wandered over to the dark girl who looked like a deer caught in the headlights. A short sigh slid through his lips before he pressed a button on his arm computer, causing what looked like sound waves to appear to be measured on the screen. After a moment, they caught Robin's-Dick's voice loud and clear.

"Tell me the truth." His voice was short and sounded weak, but his next sentence came out as strong as it normally did. "Is there or is there not a piece of Kryptonite inside of me?"

. . .

The next time that Dick tasted consciousness, he knew that it was for real. He was going to be fully awake, not just a sleeping figure with ears. Slowly, he exhaled, wincing only slightly at the dull ache in his chest. He must have been on serious drugs.

_Dick?_ Spoke a hesitant voice. Dick winced again, thinking. The voice-_Tim _was in the back of his mind as in actually in his mind. He sighed in relief, a smile coming to his face. It was Tim, not the doctor or Bruce or anyone else on the outside. It was his little brother.

_Hey. _He said softly back, voice sounding rather pitiful in his mind.

_Dick! _Exclaimed Stephanie, sounding more than happy. She sounded overjoyed and relieved, and like if she had a body, she'd hug him. He was fairly glad that she didn't have a body at that moment, though the pain in his heart, not physically but psychologically, immediately made him regret the stray thought. He made sure not to let it be shared with his personalities.

_You've been gone for so long! _Jason moaned, relief clear in his voice. _It was starting to freak us out._

There was a light scoffing sound, and Dick felt a smile slide onto his face. Damian might not admit it, but Dick could feel the worry radiating off of him.

_How long was I out? _He asked, mental voice a bit stronger than before.

_ Probably not really long, but it felt like ages in here. _Jason complained, voice sounding as young as he had died. _The news really shocked you, ya know?_

Dick felt his eyebrows furrow for a moment in confusion. _What news? _There was a pause in his mind, a beat of silence. Not one voice spoke up to explain, and that was when the memory hit him. For a moment, he couldn't think-couldn't breathe, but he found his voice quickly enough. _Right. That news._

He could practically feel their worry through the mental link, but he pushed it away quickly. Thankfully, he wasn't subjected to any worrying comments as right then a voice from outside seemed to call him from his slowly darkening unconsciousness. "Dick?"

Dick slid his eyes open, noting how his other personalities quieted down. He flinched at the bright lights before squinting and trying to get his eyes to readjust. He wet his dry lips, turning his face to the side to see none other than Bruce Wayne at his bedside, eyes watching him overbearingly. "Bruce?"

Bruce smiled lightly. "You're awake."

Dick quirked an eyebrow. "Uh, yeah. I am."

And for a moment, they just sat there in silence. Dick didn't try to sit up, just stared at his mentor. He couldn't help but think about the shard of Kryptonite. To tell the complete truth, he was somewhat afraid to ask about it.

Bruce broke their stare, standing. "I should let your friends in. They've been waiting quite a while to see you."

Dick almost smiled. However, he quickly cut this course off from his mind. He didn't want them in the room, not quite yet. He just needed a moment. "Wait." Bruce seemed to freeze automatically, standing just a few feet from the door. He turned back, an almost blank look on his face. "Bruce . . . ." Dick couldn't help it as he trailed off. A part of him, a large part of him, was scared. A part of him didn't want confirmation that the nightmare was real and still continuing. A part of him wanted to stay in the dark.

But Dick couldn't spend his life in the dark.

"Yes?" He asked, voice much lighter as Bruce Wayne instead of Batman. Dick still tensed, despite the aches and pains of his beaten and battered body.

"Tell me the truth." Dick took a shallow breath, trying to regain some strength as to insert a bit of confidence into his tired voice. "Is there or is there not a piece of Kryptonite inside me?"

Bruce didn't need to say a word. The truth was in the way his body, always ready for duty-for attack and ambush, tensed as if Slade himself had entered the room covered in Dick's blood. Dick felt his lips purse, and he tiredly moved his gaze elsewhere. He listened closely as Batman's tired footsteps went back to the chair and the chair made a loud, completely intentional scraping noise as it was scooted forward to the bed. Dick only looked at his mentor after he spoke a grim "Yes" into the air.

Dick took a shaky breath, choosing to answer Batman's unspoken question. "I heard you and Doc talking about it earlier."

"I see." Bats stated, voice quiet before it seemed to revert into Bruce Wayne's voice. "Dick, we should get this out of the way as soon as possible. The shard-it's in your system."

"Yeah. I noticed." Dick replied, his comment seemingly much sharper than his actual intended bite.

"You can either have it removed or leave it." Bruce stated, voice somehow calm and sturdy. "If you take it out, the surgery is more than dangerous. Dr. Leslie doesn't know how dangerous yet, but she knows that you could lose your life from it." Bruce paused before continuing. "The procedure would have to take place after you're back to full health, though."

Dick nodded, thinking. He wanted the Kryptonite _gone_. He wanted it out of his system. And this procedure sounded great to him, but at the same time . . . .

"What if it was left in?" He heard his dark voice mumble. He noted the put off look on Bruce's face and had to pull back on a smirk. Bruce obviously liked the idea of living with Kryptonite in Dick's body for the rest of his life about as much as Dick did.

"You would live the rest of your life with the bursts of pain whenever it sends out pulses or when you moved wrong." Batman began, eyes hard. "It would cut your lifespan down at an estimate of fifteen years according to Dr. Leslie. It's possible that it could have more unknown side-effects besides the bursts of pain. We can't be sure, but we do know that it's slowly killing you."

Dick frowned, closing his eyes due to dreariness but letting his eyebrows furrow in concentration to show Bruce that he was awake, just thinking. Somehow, Dick found it horribly ironic that the very thing that was killing him was the reason he had escaped in the end.

"Dick?" Bruce questioned gently.

Dick smiled tiredly before letting a frown back onto his face, dark blues searching Bruce's exhausted features. "I don't know. I'll decide by time I'm healed." He stated softly. However, before he could continue, Batman pressed a hand to his ear-his communicator with the League.

"I'm busy." Batman growled. Dick could almost imagine the frightened look on whatever poor Leaguer's face that had been nominated to call Bats. He barely avoided an immature snicker. However, Batman suddenly snapped at it, turning his face away from the downed Dick Grayson. "You what? She's gone?" There was another short pause before Batman stiffened. "Slade took her?"

Dick closed his eyes lazily, listening halfheartedly. Though he didn't know that the League had captured one of Slade's underlings (no doubt it was Diane they were talking about), he wasn't surprised that Slade had regained her. Even if it wasn't Diane, then it was someone (or a robot) with knowledge that could lead the League to finding him or finding out more about him. It was very possible that they might even capture him. It was almost best that the League hadn't managed to keep a hold on Slade's underling. After all, Dick knew that no one was ever fully prepared for Slade.

Dick exhaled sharply, wincing at his ribs again. They hurt the worst, but he could definitely feel the rest. He almost regretted working so hard to become immune to so many drugs. He opened his eyes again, seeing Batman look at him sadly.

Dick smiled painfully, knowing that he must've looked like a bloody mess. He took a short, shallow breath before beginning. "You shouldn't worry so much about Diane's recapture." As one of Bruce's eyebrows twitched, Dick's smile grew wider. So it _had _been Diane. "He's not coming after me again."

Bruce's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he leaned forward slightly in anticipation. "How do you know?"

Dick let his eyes close again as the pounding in his head suddenly jolted. He took a sharp breath before speaking hollowly. "I told him about the constant pains. He knows I'm damaged merchandise, and he's also under the impression that there's no way to fix it." He grinned lightly, knowing it was probably slightly lopsided. "He wants perfection-someone who will continue his line of criminal work. I pretty much told him that he was going to outlive me. He doesn't want an apprentice that is going to die before him. It's against the entire point of getting an apprentice."

Bruce's eyebrows arched slightly before he sighed heavily, eying Dick with serious worry. "Get some rest. You're going to need it."

Sleepily, Dick nodded. "Night, Bruce."

He was out before Bruce could even turn out the light. Bruce chuckled. "Good night, Dick."

Though Bruce slid out of the room, as he slid out of the room, he gave Barbara a meaningful glare. Soon, all five Teens were gathered to watch the leader of the Teen Titans sleep.

Surprisingly, Dick didn't toss or turn. He seemed to be smiling in the darkness.

It had been a long time since he'd slept so freely.

Too long.

. . .

"Dr. Kaol, what is the status on Subjects two through five?" Questioned an authoritative blond with dark eyes. In strong hands he held a clipboard with obviously important information. His black eyes snapped to a young Haiti woman in a lab coat.

The woman, Dr. Kaol, inclined her head before leading him across the laboratory. "Yes, sir. The subjects have remained in suspended animation with little to no damage. They appear to have no change since last check."

"Good." Murmured the man, checking his watch impatiently. His eyes snapped back almost violently to the young doctor. "Is the cloning process set up?"

"All we need is the DNA, sir." She stated with a smooth, practiced tone.

The man made a low growling noise in the back of his throat, pulling his suitcase up from it's resting place at his feet. He set his clipboard aside to open up the suitcase before depositing five vials of a dark red-brown liquid in a tray. He handed the tray to the woman who, in turn, handed it off to a man nearly twice her size. She turned back to him.

"Will there be anything else, sir?" Her eyes were as attentive as her back was rigid. It made him smile. The blond smiled a blood-chilling smile, nodding his head at her.

"Actually, the master asks that you also set up the last subject of this experiment for his death." The grin on the man's tanned face made every single hair on the back of the doctor's neck stand up, but she swallowed it down, forcing herself to focus.

"Yes, sir." She agreed in an almost dead voice.

Soon, the boy wonder would be thought to be as dead as the woman's tone of voice.

Very soon.

. . .

FudoTwin17: Yup. I', done. I tried to make it longer. Sorry if failed. Shout out to my reviewer last chapter. Thanks, Jester Of Nightmares. I hope this lives up to your expectations. :) Okay, I'm tired. Bye!


	15. Violation

FudoTwin17: Yo! I'm back-*cake to the face*

Dog # 3: Food! ***attacks FudoTwin17***

FudoTwin17: AHHH!

Cat: Isn't he supposed to be on a diet?

Dog # 1: Yup.

Cat: Okay, then. Well, FudoTwin17 apologizes for her lack of activity and is hopeful that you will enjoy the new installment. Not much is left to part one in this strange saga, though. Thus, enjoy what's left.

FudoTwin17: Help me!

Cat: She doesn't own Teen Titans.

Chapter 15

Several pain-filled weeks later, Dick found himself able to move again. He still had to wear braces for all limbs (a real pain), but most of his swelling went down, his bruises were all mostly yellowed or gone, most of his stitches were out, and he was able to begin doing minor functions again on his own. For the most part, he pushed the idea of there being kryptonite inside him as far back as possible.

It was strange at first getting used to the Titans knowing his identity and getting used to talking to Bats and Babs again. They were still fairly distant with everything that happened, but things started to feel as though they were falling into place. He wasn't going to be leaving the manor any time soon either considering his injuries.

And, although he knew that Jump needed protecting, he couldn't send his team back without him with the kicked puppy looks he got (especially from Beast Boy-that kid literally was a kicked puppy!). Every once and a while, they would disappear, though, and they'd come back a bit more peaceful and closer. Later, he'd watch the news to see what good deed they'd done (and a feeling of pride would swell in his chest because that was _his_ team).

Yet, there was a nagging feeling deep in his chest that something was wrong. Something was just _wrong_.

_Are you quite done worrying over nothing, Grayson?_ Damian questioned, tone as superior as ever and devoid of the worry that Dick could just feel leaking through lately. He couldn't help it as his lips twitched upward just slightly.

_Shut up, demon. _Jason snapped, cutting off any reply that Dick may have given. _It's his thoughts. Why do you care if he lets himself think over everything?_

_ I don't care. _Snapped Damian in rebellion. _I was simply trying to stop such a useless train of thought from continuing. You'd understand if you had intelligence above that of a mouse._

_ I am smart! _Exclaimed Jason in anger. Dick sighed slightly, seeing that the personalities did indeed have severe similarities to themselves in reality. Jason was just as angry and impulsive as Dick remembered.

_Keep telling yourself that. _Damian drawled, pulling back from the argument. He must've grown bored.

_Alright, that's enough, boys. _Dick called, his voice softer in his head than he expected. _Let's be good for a change._

They grumbled in reply, and Dick could hear the resounding snickering coming from Timmy and Stephanie. Normally, the immediate reaction would be for Jason and Damian to attack them (or at least Jason-sometimes Damian would let it go and take revenge later), but they were being oddly . . . good, as though they wanted to make things pleasant.

Nothing could have set Dick more on edge.

_Guys_, Dick began hesitantly, _is something-_

"Dick." Dick blinked, bringing himself back to the sitting room in front of the fire. It was odd, coming out of such a deep reverie so drained, but instead of allowing himself to feel his discomfort for being brought back to the living world before he could set his thoughts straight, he found himself focusing on his annoyance at being interrupted.

However, he smiled at Bruce when he and John Jones (otherwise known as Martian Manhunter or J'onn J'onzz) made their way toward him. They both stood in front of him, and he quickly deduced that Bruce wasn't staying by the way he didn't sit.

"Hey." He greeted as lightly as possible. "What's up?"

Bruce smiled a bit tightly, but replied in a light tone anyways. "I have some business to do, but Martian Manhunter asked if he could find out more about the Robins." The stare he was leveled with almost made him loose his breath.

It was easy to figure out what was going on. John found out about his mental personalities and wanted to know more, but Bruce (by the way his smile was so tight) didn't approve. Despite that, someone must've convinced him to let Dick decide what he wanted to do.

Immediately, all of his personalities were agitated.

_He thinks you're crazy! _Exclaimed Stephanie with an unprecedented amount of anger.

_Don't agree to this. I don't like this. _Timmy whispered, sounding more than upset. He sounded oddly wounded and a bit angry as well. _There's something he's not telling us._

Damian's growl, though, sounded the most furious. He almost sounded murderous. _If he thinks he can waltz in here and prove that you're crazy, he can go fu-_

_ Damian! _Snapped Dick, cutting him off. He paused, thinking it through for a moment. _He's part of the League. He's our friend. Let's give him a chance, okay, guys?_

_ Fine. _Jason was the one to speak, and Dick found his hand twitch lightly in response of the less than friendly tone he used. _But if he does anything-_

_ You're allowed to kick him out. _Stated Dick easily. After a number of grudging agreements, Dick smiled and looked up to see both John and Bruce staring at him in surprise. John looked severely caught off guard (so much so that Dick wished he had a camera) and Bruce . . . well, Bruce looked like Bruce. He was half-way between surprise and bored (how he managed that look was a mystery to Dick, though).

"Okay. Sure. What could go wrong?" He smiled reassuringly at them, and they snapped out of whatever trance they'd been caught in. Bruce nodded at him before quickly exiting, and John smiled weakly.

"May I take this seat?" Asked the Martian politely, waiting until Dick gave him the go ahead. "Barbara told me a bit about your connection with the other Robins, but I'd like to hear it directly from you. What is it like?"

_Barbara told? _Jason asked, sounding surprised and a bit hurt. After all, this was one of the secrets that only the Bats were supposed to know about. It was an unspoken rule not to speak of it, especially not with other heroes.

Dick quickly jumped to the rescue. _Hey. It's okay. She's just worried about us-_

_ You. _Interrupted Damian.

Dick ignored him. _She probably thought he could help us since he's a Martian, so let's trust her judgment. After all, he does have those awesome mind-reading powers. _Instead of helping them relax, they all seemed to jump at the idea of mind-reading. Dick sighed, deciding to talk to John before the Martian man realized that he'd been in another conversation (though the man looked like he already knew).

"It's . . . odd." Dick found himself saying, struggling with the words. Normally, Damian or Jason or even Stephanie would tease him for his lack of good wording, but for once his mind was dead silent. It put him on edge. "It's like they're all really there, just in my head. They're just like they were when they were alive. When they speak, my eyes change color to their eye color." A part of him wondered how that worked. If his imaginary personalities were truly imaginary, what kind of chemical imbalance could possibly cause his eyes to change color? Dick cleared his throat. "If they try hard enough, they can take control of my body. It's like having no control over myself, seeing things happen but being unable to do a thing, but I don't really have to watch anything. They kinda don't have to watch anything if they don't want. Occasionally, I get lost in memories that I know aren't mine. Sometimes . . . ." He licked his lips, uncomfortable with sharing the next bit of information.

"Sometimes?" Martian Manhunter urged gently.

Dick swallowed. "Sometimes I wonder whether or not they're real because they match with reality, but I don't know how I could see them."

"Dick." Whispered the empathetic Martian softly, but Dick continued on before he lost his nerve.

"When being Robin, and only Robin, after I have trouble remembering who I really am because Robin is a mix of all our personalities. After taking off the mask, it's a battle. If I only wear it for a few hours, it's just a little dizzying, but after a few days or months, it's terrible. My body practically rebells against me, and it's painful." Dick cleared his throat, moving on. "But it was different when we were alive."

"How so?" Asked John, leaning forward. He didn't seem to notice the the use of 'we' instead of 'they'.

"Well, I know we had a connection. The first time Jason took off the mask, it was strange. We had a connection. Just after we'd take off the masks, our thoughts seemed like they were . . . mixed. Sometimes during patrol, I could hear his thoughts. Because of that, we really grew on each other. We understood each other." His voice shook slightly, but he quickly schooled his features. "I've never felt anything more physically painful than when he died." His voice was quiet, and it surprised both men in the room.

_Dick . . . . _Jason trailed off, unable to speak.

Dick smiled softly, noting how the Martian's gaze was caught on his eyes. "After that, I donned the Robin costume again, and afterward, I had trouble with understanding who I was. It was when I really started feeling ill after taking off the mask. It happened with all the Robins, but it always felt worst for me, but leaving the Robin suit unoccupied wasn't something I could do." He took a deep breath, forcing himself to continue. "Tim, Steph, Dami-" He cut himself off. "Their deaths were easier to handle physically."

The Martian couldn't help but notice that he didn't mention emotionally.

Dick swallowed. "If they died in uniform, it was harder on my body. Stephanie still hurt, though, because she was in my head when she died. After Dami . . . ." Dick shook his head. "I stopped taking off the suit. After the mask was taken off, they really felt there. Before, it was less, but now they're constantly here."

After spilling all of that, Dick felt both violated and . . . relieved. It felt wrong.

Martian Manhunter frowned. "I've never heard of such a thing happening before with humans, especially after . . . ." He trailed off, not wanting to mention their deaths. Dick nodded in understanding. "Do you mind if I have a look in your mind?"

Dick gritted his teeth at the idea, but he oddly felt . . . obligated.

_You don't owe him anything. _Snapped Jason. _You don't have to let him in your mind._

_ Why are you all so against the idea? _Dick finally asked. It'd been bothering him how they were all less than forthcoming. He didn't expect them to like it, but he didn't expect such an angry, unwelcoming response.

They were silent.

_I'm going to let him in. _Dick whispered into his mind. _Not because I feel obligated, but because I feel like I'm going crazy. I love you all, and I miss you, but you're all . . . you're all dead. I need help. _

Help. The very word made Dick cringe, but for once, he knew it was true. He couldn't help the feeling of weakness that ran through him. The feeling had been pounded into him by Bats at the necessity of help. It didn't matter who from. Weakness was weakness.

Once again, they were silent, but this time, something was different. He could feel all of their concern. He could feel their support. Mentally, he sighed a gentle breath, letting his thankfulness fill his mind for them.

He nodded to J'onn.

The Martian smiled reassuringly toward him, but Dick wasn't reassured. He closed his eyes and relaxed, allowing the Martian's kind instructions to flow over him. He pushed aside his mental barriers for the alien and waited.

John's eyes glowed green.

_Then he screamed._

. . .

Dick found he couldn't push aside the memory even after he only had to use braces for exercise weeks later. In a full splits, he pushed his torso to the ground with a wince. It was obvious (at least to him) that he had to rebuild up his flexibility.

He closed his eyes, seeing the Martian screaming on the ground with his hands slowly melting back into his natural form. He winced, immediately opening his eyes again.

The Martian had attracted Alfred and the Titan's attention, and they helped get him up to the Watchtower. It was three days later that the alien had woken up, bound and screaming, about the dark and the fire, pain, and abandonment.

Dick didn't know what happened, but he refused to let the Martian try again, whether or not he was prepared the second time. He didn't want to have that happen again.

With a sigh, Dick changed position, leaning back in his splits so his back touched the ground, still in a full split. He frowned when he could barely touch his upper back to the ground and slowly pushed himself until all but the small of his back touched. He smiled softly, but he couldn't help but wince at the spikes of pain the motion brought to his legs and arms.

_Darn braces. _He complained in his mind. _I wouldn't even feel it if not for the braces._

_ Idiot Grayson. _Damian's scowl was clear in his voice. _If not for the braces, you would feel it only afterward, and then it would _really _hurt. The braces are there to help you. Stop being so stupid._

_ Dick's not an idiot! _Exclaimed Tim. _Stop being such a jerk!_

_ Only when he stops being an idiot and you stop being an annoying prick. _Damian responded immediately.

Dick sighed. "Boys, calm down." Before he could continue to tell Damian to be nice and Tim that it was okay, another voice joined the conversation.

"Talking to Jason and Damian?" Asked Raven, coming to stand in front of him. The Robins seemed so surprised that they all became quiet.

Dick smiled as he sat up and looked at her. "Actually, Damian and Tim."

She smiled back, sitting down and crossing her legs in the lotus position. Dick smiled. After he'd returned, she was the only one that seemed to not tip-toe around him as if he were made of glass and would shatter with the lightest touch. As an empath, he knew that she felt his nightmares, his emotions, and maybe even the rest of their emotions. She seemed to be the most understanding, and she was also comfortable to talk to.

It was nice.

"You aren't returning to the Titans, are you?" She finally asked after a long, comfortable silence.

To be honest, Dick had thought about this more than he should have. It was one of the biggest things that occupied his mind. He wanted to return to the Titans so badly. He wanted to play video games with Beast Boy and Cyborg, listen to Starfire, rest with Raven . . . but . . . .

But he wasn't Robin anymore.

"No, I'm not." He agreed, tone sad.

She smiled softly at him. It was odd, seeing that sad smile on her face. "I understand, and, eventually, so will they."

There was another long pause, but it was fine. The silence was a comfort.

"You realize that they're dead, right?" She nearly whispered, dark eyes resting on him, no pity surfacing anywhere in her face.

His breath caught for a moment before he sighed softly. "Yes."

They shared the silence for hours afterward.

. . .

FudoTwin17: ***cries***

Cat: We hope you enjoyed that. We also hope you had a good winter break. :)

Dog # 1: R&R! Bye!


	16. Missing Heroes

FudoTwin17: Yo, bros. I'm really surprised. I think it's finally getting to the end!

Cat: Which is actually kinda sad.

FudoTwin17: Yeah. I really loved typing this, but I think this is gonna be one of the last chapters of _Agony's Best Friend_ as well as the beginning of some hard questions.

Dog # 1: Such as?

FudoTwin17: First off, do you want a sequel? Considering that this is the end, I feel like it's time to ask. I mean, the poll has been up for a while, but I like to know your opinions. Plus, to be perfectly honest, this might turn into three stories because I don't know if I can successfully end it in book two the way I want to.

Cat: So, opinions?

FudoTwin17: Yes. I need your opinions! Any requests or anything! They are all appreciated!

Dog # 1: Yup.

FudoTwin17: Now, I don't own Teen Titans! Enjoy!

Chapter 16

"Diane," Slade called, gray eye harsh and cutting as they turned on his niece, "tea. Now."

"Yes, Master." She murmured, metal fingers working on automatic. She kept her head down and violet eye fixed on her hands as she measured tea leaves to precisely, heated the kettle too slowly, and poured too many cups for the present company. She was slow to bring it to her uncle as was obvious in the soft clanging of her metal feet.

Slade, though, was slow to take a cup of tea from the offered tray and did not drink. After a moment, his hands came up to remove the mask and reveal a white-haired man with an eye-patch as well as a pinched look that only came when one was in a heavy reverie. The furrow of his brow, almost angry looking, would have tipped anyone off to his train of thought.

"Your tea will get cold." His niece murmured from her submissive position at his side, very aware that he hadn't dismissed her yet. When he took a small sip of the herbal tea, Diane nearly sagged in relief. It seemed as though it was one of her master's better days, making this risk she was about to take just a bit safer. "May I ask what you are thinking about?"

His eye rose to her, dark and scrutinizing. "I believe I must find another apprentice." He huffed, turning away slightly. "One that isn't defective."

With that short answer, he turned away from her and motioned her set down the tea tray as well as leave. With a wince, she did just that, pretending that his last prod at both her and Dick's unsuitability of playing his apprentice hadn't gotten the exact response that they both knew it had.

Defective. _Broken. _They weren't broken.

They weren't.

. . .

There was something about that look mirrored on almost all of their faces that made Dick wince. It was a familiar look that screamed of betrayal, broken trust, and lost faith that he himself had worn too many times to count. The idea (the truth) that he was the reason that it had appeared on their faces made his blood curdle.

For once, he was glad that the other Robins did not attempt to speak. Their silence was as appreciated as the waves of calm and comfort they sent when words could do nothing. It almost tempted the boy to give a smile, sad and pitiful as it might be.

"Why?" Starfire finally managed to gasp, stumbling forward slightly, her jean jacket slipping off one tanned shoulder without her notice. Her green eyes were wide and just a bit manic, something that made Dick have to swallow before he could answer.

"You can't just . . . quit." Beast Boy whispered, looking for the life of him lost. The peach skin and blond hair still threw Dick for a loop when he looked at the younger male despite knowing that he was in disguise while under the manor roof (under Alfred's orders as there were no superhero costumes allowed outside the cave). Beast Boy bit his lip, looking as though he couldn't continue.

"I'm not going to quit." Dick stated, smiling gently but sternly at them. "And I will always come if you need me."

"But we need you now!" Starfire exclaimed, staring at him with trembling lip and chattering teeth. He gave her a kind smile, stepping forward to grasp her hands gently. His skin was cool to the touch, and her eyes fluttered closed for just a moment at the feeling.

"But you don't." Dick whispered. "None of you do. You've proven that time and time again. Don't think I haven't been watching the news. You, the four of you, have been able to beat some of the worst of Jump's villains as a team. You're balanced, confident, and successful. You don't need me anymore." His voice slowly grew in confidence and volume as he continued, and his eyes rose to look at each of them. The silence seemed to last a millennium of one-sided conversations, sad goodbyes, and piteous rejections. Finally, though, one of the last Titans to speak stepped forward, eyes pleading and trembling hands outstretched.

"Dick, we need you." Cyborg said, his voice strong and steady more for his team than himself. "Please. You're our leader!"

"No, Cy." Dick shook his head, releasing Star's hands. Dark blue eyes rested on the dark-skinned boy with an odd expression that made his heart pound just a bit faster-_Pride_. Dick looked _proud_. "You're the leader."

The older male gaged, eyes wide. He spluttered for a moment, not knowing what to say or how to say it. "But-You-I can't be-"

"You already are." The room went dead silent as Dick looked at them with that proud look again. The easy smile on his face wasn't forced, nor was it fake. His eyes slowly moved to each of them in turn. "Once, we made a good team. Now, you make a great team. You're not only ready to go on without me, but you've already done it well. You guys don't need me, and it's best if I go, but that doesn't mean that I'm gone. You guys are all family, and my door is always open. If you need a thing, call me, and I'll be there. I will always be there. And vise-versa, if I ever need help, you'll be the first that I ring. The Titans may be in my past, but that doesn't mean that I'm not still a Titan, though honorary." He gave them an encouraging smile.

After a moment, Beast Boy sniffed softly before flinging himself on the (still) injured boy. He didn't break into loud sobs or plead or beg, just hold on as if the other male might disappear if he let go of him. "Robin . . . ." He trailed off, not knowing what to say.

"I know you guys want me to stay, but . . . but the Titans need a Robin, and I don't think I can be Robin anymore. Robin . . . the mask is too much, and I don't think I can live up to it anymore. While Robin is important, I need to be myself again instead of clinging so much to the dead." Dick smiled, arms softly wrapping around the changeling in his arms as he had many times before for others just as close to him but now gone. "I'm not doing this just for you. I'm doing this for me. It's time that I let go of them, and to let go of them, I need to let go of Robin." He sighed softly. "I'm sorry."

Slowly, Beast Boy stepped back, wiping quiet tears from his face and looking up with puffy eyes and raw, wet cheeks. He took a deep breath, and his voice came surprisingly steady. "You'd better visit."

Dick blinked in surprise, not having expected any of them to understand, let alone accept it so quickly. Apparently, he wasn't the only one with such thoughts because the other Titans stared at Beast Boy as well with mixtures of shock, wonder, betrayal, and indecision written plainly across their faces.

"At least once every two weeks. You stay in your room as much as you can, and-and help us catch random bad guys when you're in town." The boy commanded, eyes oddly determined. "And whenever you fail, you have to bring some kind of sweet or game to apologize as well as stay through the week no matter what you're doing."

Dick's jaw dropped, much like everyone else's. However, the green shape-shifter's eyes never left him.

"Promise." Beast Boy insisted.

Finally, Dick closed his mouth in a genuine smile before nodding at him. "I promise."

With those words, the tension seemed to finally fall from the room, and, one by one, the Titans seemed to give their friend a subtle sign that they understood and supported him. Misty eyes, sad smiles, sharp nods-Dick received several.

He noted that Starfire kept her eyes down and her voice was silent. His smile fell for a moment, but he had no chance to speak as Raven, his only supporter from the beginning, asked in a soft voice. "What now?"

Dick paused, a frown on his face. "What do you mean?"

"You said that you aren't going to quit." She stated clearly, dark eyes sad yet understanding. "What are you going to do?"

"Pick up my old persona." He replied softly, a slow, careful smile sliding across his lips as memories, good memories, flashed across his dark blue eyes. "What do you think of the name Nightwing?"

. . .

"You aren't staying here, are you?" Barbara asked as he finally exited the room filled with his teammates. He glanced at her for just a moment before wearily shaking his head, letting a tired though accomplished look come across his features since he was no longer in the Titan's views. "Where will you go?"

He paused, licking his chapped lips before smiling at her. "Wherever I'm needed."

"Dick," There was a pleading note in her voice that made Dick blink. He hadn't heard Barbara use that tone in years, "please at least stay long enough to have the surgery to remove the . . . that piece of kryptonite and to recover. Please."

He smiled softly. "I'm not getting rid of it, Babs."

Barbara blinked in surprise, obviously losing her footing. "What? Bu-But-"

"I'll live while I live, Babs." He stated, voice oddly muted. There was no sag in his shoulders or telling sign of distress that gave Barbara any hint as to how he felt. Fear, and just a bit (okay, a lot) of anger gripped her core as she spun on her heel and marched toward him.

"And you'll die when you die!" She snarled. "You can't do that! You-You can't leave Bruce and . . . you can't leave me."

As if he were approaching a wild animal, Dick slowly stepped toward her, hands reaching out. Slowly, his hands cupped her face, and her eyes fluttered closed on automatic. She leaned into his touch, thinking about older times when things weren't so hard or terrifying. She missed the days she felt free to make friends-colleagues without fearing that they would soon sacrifice their lives. She sighed softly.

She missed the days when they were a family.

Slowly, she felt him tilt her head downward and give her a gentle kiss on the forehead, lips soft against her flushed skin. "I will never leave you."

Her eyes didn't open, even after he pulled away.

"I was thinking Bludhaven." Dick said conversationally. "I think it'd be a good place to start. After all, they definitely need a hero."

When her eyes opened, her hero was gone.

. . .

FudoTwin17: Gasp! We're almost done!

Cat: You still have one more chapter.

FudoTwin17: Yup. Then it's sequel time (assuming you guys want a sequel).

Dog # 1: Well, enjoy! Bye.

FudoTwin17: Yeah. I have to get to my orchestra concert. I hope you guys like this and review! Seriously, I love reading your reviews! They're so inspiring! XD Okay, bye!


	17. The End: Bring Me Back to Life

FudoTwin17: Hey, guys. It's been too long.

Cat: Much too long.

Goldfish # 4: Much, much, _much _too long.

FudoTwin17: I'm sorry! But I'll be honest with you guys. I legitimately have reasons this time. And to be honest, I'm sick and tired and a little bit drained. I don't even want to explain everything that's happened. So I won't. You're probably getting sick of this conversation thingy wasting your time when there's a new chappie, too, so without further ado, I present to you the epilogue of Agony's Best Friend.

Goldfish # 7: She doesn't own anything important!

Cat: She owns you.

Goldfish # 4: Lay off, you overgrown rat.

Cat: ***brings out claws* **I'll enjoy your last moments.

FudoTwin17: NO! Stop!

Epilogue

"When are you coming back? We miss you." Beast Boy's voice buzzed over Nightwing's communicator as he swung through the darkened streets of Bludhaven. Nightwing felt a small, sad though a bit amused smile tug at his lips.

_Already? _Stephanie asked in surprise. _It's only been a few days!_

_ Ridiculous. _Damian muttered, sounding annoyed (as usual).

_You can't blame them for missing him. _Tim argued, voice young in Dick's mind.

"I was there three days ago." He pointed out, flipping onto a nearby homeless shelter. He crouched, absentmindedly tapping the communicator on his ear. "And I'll be back in eleven days, just like I agreed."

Faintly, Nightwing noticed a young, redheaded woman walking alone, pulling a dark coat around herself. He scowled. Was she trying to get herself killed? He began trailing her slowly, eyes scanning the surrounding area for any threats.

_Idiot. _Damian hissed. Nightwing rolled his eyes.

_She's a civilian. _Nightwing pointed out.

_That's not a good excuse for being stupid. _Jason replied. Nightwing decided it was best not to point out that he'd just agreed with Damian.

"I know, but we miss you. I miss you." Beast Boy murmured. He sounded a bit downtrodden, and Nightwing sighed, realizing it was his fault. "Cy seems more stressed since he became leader. He doesn't spend much time with us or even his car. I haven't even seen him touch pie once. He loves pie!" Nightwing winced. "He spends all his time obsessing over Slade."

Nightwing grimaced. The name left a bitter taste in his mouth despite not being the one to say it. He understood only too well what obsessing over Slade was like, and he felt the promise bubble up on his lips a bit too willingly before he considered his words. "I'll see if I can get away sooner. I still have to keep going with school, you know."

Two men (slimy and with knives) stumbled out of an alleyway, eyeing the girl. Nightwing found himself standing and flinging himself down quickly. With a flip, he was only a short run away. However, he found his eyebrows furrow as, instead of screaming, the woman punched one of the men out.

"Okay." Beast Boy agreed over the phone immediately, sounding slightly too happy. Nighwing slowed, watching as she put the other man on the ground. There was a pause before Beast Boy whispered. "Star misses you, too."

"Yeah." Nightwing breathed as she turned around, pushing red hair out of her face. "I can see that. I have to let you go, B. Talk to you tomorrow?"

"Yeah." The youngest Titan replied. "Bye, Wing."

There was a long moment wherein both of them stared at one another.

"Hey, Star." Nightwing finally said. Neither of them smiled.

"Nightwing." She whispered. Clearing her throat, Starfire gave him a soft, pained look. "Robin. Please, come back."

"Star, I can't." He whispered.

Thankfully, the other Robins went silent.

"Why not?" She asked, and Dick (not Nightwing or Robin, _Dick_) flinched at the childlike tone. He swallowed. He knew she didn't understand, that a part of her didn't want to. While he saw himself letting go and trying to heal, she saw him abandoning their family (_her_). And if Starfire wanted anything, it was to keep together her friends, her family (_Rekmas, right. The word for when friends began to drift apart._) "I don't understand."

"I know you don't, Star." He stated.

"Explain it to me!" She begged, eyes shining. "Do you want to get away from us? Do you not want to be a Titan anymore?"

"No, of course not-" He started.

"Me? Is it us?" She asked. "You could be Nightwing with the Titans. We don't need Robin. We just need you."

"Starfire, I know." He touched her hands, and faintly noticed they were shaking. He glanced up, wary. He prayed she wasn't about to have a panic attack. He'd only seen her have one once, but the damages were enough that he never wanted to see one again.

"So it's them?" She whispered. " The voices? Are you trying to get the voices to stop? We-we can help." She breathed. Then her words began blurring into other languages, ones he knew and ones he definitely didn't.

Nightwing stiffened, gritting his teeth. Slowly, he pushed the breath out from between his teeth. Then he pulled her into a hug.

At first, she was silent, but then, she started shaking. Nightwing tried not to wince as sobs-big, ugly ones, not the soft ones always on the big screens-began choking their way up. He didn't say a word, just patted her hair and touched her back. After a minute, the tension bled out of her, and he felt his heart lurch as she pulled away, wiping away tears.

"I'm sorry." She finally whispered.

"Me, too." Nightwing replied.

For a moment, neither said anything. Then she let out a breath. "I'm not giving up, you know."

"I know." Nightwing replied.

And then the redheaded beauty was gone, leaving Nightwing alone. He found himself quiet, contemplative without her or any of the voices in his head speaking (and sometimes, he really _did _feel a bit crazy when thoughts like that bubbled up). His eyes roamed a bit softly over Bludhaven, digging for crime and infestation as he settled down into the highest perch he could find.

_Dick? _Tim's voice sounded small.

_Yes? _The older boy immediately responded.

_Do . . . Do you really . . . . _Tim's voice faded weakly.

_What? _Dick encouraged, trying to call up softer emotions for the link. However, feelings of safety and comfort were pushed down nearly immediately by trepidation and anxiety, and it was quite the shock when Dick realized that they were coming from _all _of them, not just Timmy.

_Do you really want the voices gone? _Stephanie finally managed.

Dick jolted in surprise, nearly throwing himself from his perch high in the misty night sky. "No." He said aloud before shaking his head. _No. I just . . . . _Dick sighed. _You guys, you're not real. _He whispered softly. _And I need to start letting you go, let you rest. I've been . . . I've practically been torturing myself with the idea that you could be alive when I watched a number of you die myself. I love you, but I need to let you go. The first step was letting go of Robin._

_ So you do want us gone. _Damian's voice sounded unaffected, but it held such a strong undercurrent of hurt that immediately Dick felt his chest ache.

_No. But I can't keep trying to hold on to you and protect you when I've already failed once. _Dick's voice was soft.

_Dick. _Jason murmured in surprise.

_I don't want you guys to stop talking to me, not ever. _Dick managed to whisper inside his head. _But if I keep you guys as a part of me the way I do when I wear the Robin suit, then I'll drive myself crazy. _He sighed.

_What . . . What would you do if we were alive? _Stephanie whispered.

A flash of a blood-stained blade flashed through Dick's mind before he cleared it, swallowing. _I'd go to the ends of the universe, known and unknown, to find you._

There was a pause.

Dick shifted uncomfortably, the Nightwing suit reminding him only too well that they were talking theory. _Guys, what's this abou-_

_ We're alive. _Jason stated.

Dick's world fell apart.

. . .

FudoTwin17: And that marks the end of Agony's Best Friend. Thank you all for reading, and for all of you that had theories on where this story was going, I'm happy to finally reveal how many of you were correct, though there were some theories that I found very interesting. Thank you all for making it this far.

Cat: She hopes that this will spark your curiosity and tell her whether or not you actually want a sequel.

FudoTwin17: Yes. To be honest, the way the plot has worked out, this may be a three-part piece, but I'll only do it if you want it. Thanks so much, guys.

Dog # 1: Review, please. And have a wonderful day!


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